^'^V 







Class _b_5^ 
Book £.3 



°- Cej-M ?-- 



COPYRICJIT DEPOSIT. * 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



THE FARM 


LIBRARY 




SOILS .... 


. By S. W. 


Fletcher 


FARM ANIMAI^ . 


. ByE.V 


Wilcox 


COTTON . By C. W. Burkett and Clarence H. Toe 


FARM MANAGEMENT 


By F. W. Card 




< 

< 

a 
w 
2 



Zbc farm Itbrar? 



FARM 

MANAGEMENT 

Including business accounts, suggestions for 
watching markets, time to market various 
products, adaptation to local conditions, etc. 

By FRED W. CARD 

Professor of Agriculture 




NEW YORK 

Doubleday, Page & Company 

1907 



Ur^. 



^vUZ 



U8R/.RV 


f\<i\ 


'^NQRESS 


Iwx.-O' 




v,e)v«d 


MAh 


1\ 


lyo/ 




A 


'>fo7- 


OLA»a 


<^- 


.y«A«. N«. 


/^v 


>?-i-^ 



5^ 



6\ 



,0-^^^ 
fA 



COPYKIGHT, 1907, BY DODBLEDAY, PaGE & COMPANY 

Published, March, 1907 



All Rights Reserved 

Including that of Translation into Foretgw Languages 

Including the Scandinavian 



PREFACE 

The production of good crops and animals 
constitutes one phase of successful agriculture. 
It is the phase upon which most emphasis has 
been laid in the movements for agricultural 
betterment which have been so prominent in 
recent times. But higher crop and animal 
production does not represent all there is to 
good farming. An article which has been pro- 
duced at too great cost or marketed unwisely 
may bring no financial gain. Executive ability 
and the proper adjustment of cog to cog in the 
business venture count for more than soil fertility 
or intelligent crop management. To market a 
product advantageously is as essential as to 
produce it economically. In short, business 
methods are as important as production methods, 
and far more likely to be neglected. 

To bring to the attention of students some of 
these problems of the farm has been the object 
of the course of lectures of which the present 
writing is the outgrowth. They are problems 
which should appeal to the farmer with even 
greater force than to the student. The aim has 
been to awaken interest and suggest methods 
of studying these problems rather than to present 



PREFACE 

solutions of them, for the solution will differ with 
nearly every individual case. In the system 
of records and accounts outlined, simplicity has 
been kept uppermost, for to prove useful a 
system must be adopted, and to be adopted it 
must be simple. 

Agricultural teaching and agricultural prac- 
tice will both give greater heed to the business 
management of the farm in the years to come 
than in those gone by. Farm Administration, 
rather than farm production, is likely to receive 
special emphasis in the next forward movement 
for agriculture. It is the hope of the author 
that this book may help to stimulate that 
movement. 

Fred W. Card. 

Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Me- 
chanic Arts, 
Kingston, R. I., February 23, 1907. 



CONTENTS 

FACE 

Preface ......... v 

Chapter I. THE EVOLUTION OF FARMING . 3 
Economic changes. 

Chapter II. CAPITAL 10 

The proper adjustment between the various forms of 
"fixed" and "circulating" capital. 

Chapter III. LABOUR 19 

Winter labour; manual labour; the labour problem; 
time-cards; the average cost of labour; contract labour; 
profit sharing; reducing cost of maintenance; reducing 
cost per unit of work; three and four-horse teams. 

Chapter IV. IMPLEMENTS AND EQUIPMENT 40 

Elements of cost in the farm implement problem; size of 
machinery; depreciation. 

Chapter V. OWNERSHIP OR RENTAL . .48 

The element of risk. 

Chapter VI. THE CHOICE OF A FARM . . 56 

Location; surroundings; market facilities; character of 
the farm; nature of the land; proportion of waste land; 
buildings; water supply; woodland; orchards; fences; 
attractiveness of location. 

Chapter VII. SYSTEMS OF FARMING . . 70 

Special vs. mixed farming; extensive vs. intensive farm- 
ing; syndicate farming; favourable factors; fuU 



viii FARM MANAGEMENT 

PAGE 

equipment warranted; full use of equipment possible; 
opportunity for skilled oversight; advantages in market- 
ing; unfavourable factors; loss of time in working large 
areas; difBculty oi close oversight by manager; lack of 
|)ersonal oversight on the part of the investor. 

CHAFFKn VIII. FARMING COMPARED WITH 

OTHKR LINES OF BUSINESS ... 91 

The investment demanded; safety of the investment; 
prospect of a continued livelihood; financial returns; 
opportunities for the active investor; opportunities for 
the man without capital; opportunities for women; 
attractiveness of surroundings; home making; family 
employment; independence and service. 

CiiAi-rKH IX. MARKETING PROBLEMS — THE 

IMPOirrANC E OF PRICE .109 

Transj)ortation; wholesale vs. retail market; general vs. 
special market; home vs. a <listant market; direct sale 
vs. commission; division of shipments; a city salesman; 
cooperative marketing; varieties; packing and grading. 

Chaptkr X. ADVERTISING 139 

The apj)earance of the farm and the crops; the appear- 
ance of the farmer and his team; (he farm name; letter- 
heads; printed envelopes; shipping cards; the farm 
bulletin board; fair exhibits; printed circulars; news- 
paper or magazine advertising. 

Chaptkk XI. RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS — 

BUSINESS ACCOUNTS 145 

Reasons for keeping accounts; systems of accounts; a 
single entry system; the inventory; the inventory valua- 
tion: rates of depreciation; inventory records; the cash 



CONTENTS ix 

PACK 

book; the bank account; personal accounts; the ex- 
tended ledger; separate slips; merits of the system; 
double entry; the cash book; the day book and journal; 
the ledger; farm records; dairy records; milk records; 
swine records; poultry records; crop records; family 
consumption records; the method; general advice. 

Chapter XII. MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS — 

FENCING 198 

Economy of time. 

Chapter XIII. COOPERATION . . .208 

Production; the ownership of large implements; the 
ownership of improved sires and breeding stock; co- 
operative labour; manufacture; buying; selling; fire in- 
surance; telephone systems. 

CHAi>rER XIV. SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING . 222 
A representative mixed farm in New York; a woman's 
farm; dairy farming; a typical dairy farm in Penn- 
sylvania; sheep farming; a New England farm on which 
sheep find a place, Massachusetts; beef farming; a 
profitable beef farm, Missouri; poultry farming; a 
modest poultry farm, Rhode Island; grass farming; a 
successful fruit farm in New York managed by a father 
and son; truck farming; a typical truck farm near 
Boston. 

INDEX 267 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



A commercial apple orchard in Nebraska 



Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 

4 
4 

5 

12 
13 
16 
17 
18 
19 
30 
31 



1. The old-time loom and spinning wheels . 

2. The modern loom .... 

3. Old-time dairy methods 

4. Where the cost of land improvement is heavy 

5. The dairy room ..... 

6. Insufficient labour and equipment . 

7. Over-capitalisation in buildings 

8. Under-capitalisation in buildings . 

9. A good farm woodlot .... 

10. The sugar-bush ..... 

11. Poultry helps to solve the winter labour problem 

12. Winter is the time for putting all implements in repair 

13. A neat farm tenement house . 

14. The way the city business man economises team 

labour ...... 

15. Harvesting corn by hand 

16. The corn harvester at work . 

17. Where efficiency is the determining factor 

18. The potato digger .... 

19. Waiting for a tenant .... 

20. A type of country school to be avoided . 

21. Neighbours signify much more in farm life than in city 

or village life ..... 

22. A farmers' gathering .... 

23. A highway lined with maple trees . 

24. A farm where the surface contour is bad 

25. Where surface contour is good 

26. Too large a proportion of waste land 



33 

38 
39 
42 
43 
48 
49 
54 

55 
58 
59 
64 
64 
65 



Xll 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



27. A modest but attractive farm home ... 68 

28. An unattractive farm house ..... 69 

29. The haying equipment on an ordinary mixed farm . 76 

30. Additional haying equipment which special farming 

will warrant ....... 77 

31. Extensive and intensive methods with the hay crop . 86 

32. Making the potato crop a specialty ... 87 

33. A full equipment is warranted .... 90 

34. A small investment ...... 91 

35. The farmer's old age 100 

36. Farming as a business investment directly jSnanced 

by the owner ....... 101 

37. Farming as a business investment on the share-rental 

system ........ 102 

38. The farmer's place of work ..... 103 

39. The business man's place of work . .106 

40. A neat farm home built from materials furnished by 

the farm 107 

41. Each child can be given an opportunity for some 

enterprise of his own . . . . .108 

42. A long hill but easy grades and a good macadam road 

make it easily climbed ..... 109 

43. A steep hill 128 

44. Marketing at retail . 129 

45. Marketing at wholesale. .144 

46. An apple tree in fruit ...... 145 

47. Where appreciation takes the place of depreciation . 148 

48. Students considering the depreciation on a silage 

cutter exposed to the weather .149 

49. Where depreciation is heavy . . . . .156 

50. Inventory cards ....... 157 

51. One cow's record. ...... 196 

52. One cow's record. ...... 197 

53. Small fields 204 

54. Diagram of small fields ..... 204 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Xlll 



55. Diagram of fencing problem for a lOO-acre farm . 204 

56. Inconvenient location of buildings and well . , 205 

57. Cooperative ownership ...... 208 

58. Filling the silo ........ 209 

59. A cooperative cheese factory . . . .212 

60. A profitable cooperative creamery . .213 

61. Marketing cheese from the cooperative factory . 220 

62. The chief factor on the dairy farm . .221 

63. Grain growing ....... 224 

64. Poultry farming at Little Compton, R. I. . , 225 

65. A profitable hay field kept continuously in grass . 254 

66. Modern implements ...... jt55 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



CHAPTER I 

THE EVOLUTION OF FARMING 

WITHIN a half -century business methods 
have undergone vast changes. The 
village blacksmith is no longer the me- 
chanic in toto for the whole countryside. It is 
not so long ago that he was expected to stand 
ready to furnish anything needed, from a pound 
of nails to a hammer or a harrow. Gradually 
the making of nails, of hammers, and of harrows 
passed into the hands of some one blacksmith 
who learned to make them better or cheaper 
than others. He then found more people in 
want of them. In time he could not make them 
fast enough himself and hired another smith to 
help. This, in its simplest terms, is the history 
of modern manufacturing. 

Along with this specialisation in business has 
gone specialisation among the workmen. The 
old-time shoemaker cut his pegs from the birch 
log, made his own '* waxed-end," and fashioned 
the shoe throughout. Sometimes he tanned the 
leather from which it was made. The modern 
shoemaker stands by a machine which cuts one 
of the pieces that go to make up a present-day 
shoe, with swift machine-like movement puts 

3 



4 FARM MANAGEMENT 

one of these pieces in place, or builds a factory 
in which to make the eyelets, or the hooks, or 
the laces. This specialisation has brought both 
gain and loss to the workman. It has brought 
gain, in that he must no longer serve a long 
apprenticeship in order to take an accredited 
place among his fellows. It has brought loss 
in that it has reduced his chances of becoming 
a skilled workman whose services are at a pre- 
mium. His place can be quickly filled and he 
is of less consequence to his employer than 
formerly. He is not such a well-trained, all- 
round man as he used to be. If he leaves his 
place he is less able to adapt himself to new con- 
ditions than formerly. Whether his condition 
is on the whole better or worse is useless to ask. 
The change has come and no power can turn 
back the tide. The workman, like the manu- 
facturer, must abide by the result. 

The merchant, too, has been carried on by 
the same current. His customers demand a 
better assortment than they did. His capital 
is insufficient to meet this increased demand in 
all lines. One line is strengthened and another 
dropped. Unless he organises a company to 
develop a department store, he no longer carries 
hardware, groceries, drygoods, confectionery, and 
drugs. As the line of goods contracts the cir- 
cle of customers must widen. Special efforts 
are made to bring sales, the windows dazzle with 



■ 


^H r r 'HHHHjj^HH 


i^ 


B 




m 


-•-rSBJB- ■ 




itaw-J::..-,, ; ; ^ 




■ " rr im.Z"~ 






■■■HflHIIHHHi 


^spmi 


■■■* ^V 1 '"'■ ^T r 


■feij|K^.' 


. ^^ I >^,.'- ^ 



1. THE OLD-TIME LOOM AMD SPINNLNG WHEELS 




3. THE MODERN' LOOM 




S 6 



THE EVOLUTION OF FARMING 5 

the display, the columns of the daily enlarge 
upon the value of the wares, and salesmen are 
trained in every art of exchanging goods for 
money. 

The farm has in part, but only in part, escaped 
this trend of the times. The pioneer farm which 
supported a half-dozen sheep, a cow, and a calf 
must needs furnish all they ate. If the hay ran 
short they must take to the woods and "browse." 
Buying grain to supplement the farm supply 
was unknown. The wool from the back of the 
sheep, if taken to a carding mill, was soon 
returned, to pass over the spinning wheel and 
through the loom or over the knitting needle to 
the wearer. The shiftless or unfortunate farmer 
who failed to grow wheat enough to supply bread 
for the family, ate rye or corn. Sugar came from 
the maple tree and spice from the herb garden. 

The farm of those days was a self-centred 
community. The members of the family fur- 
nished the labour employed and in emergencies 
*' changed works" with a neighbour. The farm 
supplied, directly, most of the needs of its 
occupants. The test of good farming lay largely 
in the ability to satisfy these needs to the fullest 
extent. There was little business dealing with 
the outside world, and that largely by way of ex- 
change. The tailor, the shoemaker, the doctor, 
and the minister each used some surplus product 
in return for services rendered. The leading 



6 FARM MANACxEMENT 

business transactions of the year were the cash 
sales needed to secure enough actual money to 
meet the demands of the tax-gatherer. 

The progressive modern farm has entered into 
the commercial life of the day. It recognises the 
law of advantage in production. It discerns 
the futility of attempting to compete with all the 
world in the production of every commodity. 
Every farm cannot grow celery, peaches, corn, 
and cauliflower equally well. Some farms can 
produce one of them better. Every farm ought 
to be able to produce some one thing better than 
most other farms can produce it. If this ad- 
vantage more than offsets the expenses of ex- 
change, it is the part of good business policy to 
find out what that one thing is and to produce it. 

This change means that farming becomes a 
business rather than an employment. It means 
the adoption of business methods in every phase 
of activity. It means the proper adjustment of 
the capital involved. There should be no more 
land than the money, tools, and equipment will 
handle to its full capacity. There must be no 
more money invested in implements than can 
be used with profit upon the land available. 
It means that the line of crops chosen must be 
adjusted to the demands of the market, to a 
rotation consistent with the demands of good 
farming, and to a system of labour which 
will permit full employment and business-like 



THE EVOLUTION OF FARMING 7 

manipulation of the labour available. Team- 
work must be adjusted so as to secure the maxi- 
mum number of hours of service from the number 
of animals kept. The farmer must endeavour to 
cheapen production and to increase quality of 
product at every possible point. He must try 
to discover the point at which increased labour 
and fertility applied fails to yield a more than 
corresponding increase in crop return ; then must 
endeavour to reach it but not to pass it. He 
must know the market in which he is to com- 
pete, what it demands and how it demands it. 
He must know how to advertise his goods and 
in what shape they will be most attractive to 
customers. He should know something of the 
regions against which he has to compete and of 
what his competitors are doing. 

ECONOMIC CHANGES 

In 1850 there was one farm for each sixteen 
persons within the limits of the United States. 
In 1900 there was one farm for each 13.3 persons. 
To put it in another and better way, there were 
4.87+ acres of improved land in cultivation in 
the United States in 1850 for each individual of 
population. In 1900 there were 5.44 - acres in 
cultivation for each member of the population. 
The average size of farms decreased from 1850 
to 1880 but has increased since that time. From 



8 FARM MANAGEMENT 

1890 to 1900 the increase in acreage of improved 
land was 16 per cent.; the increase in population 
was 21 per cent. During the greater part of 
the last half-century the acreage of improved 
land in cultivation has therefore been increasing 
faster than the population. This has meant 
keener competition for the farmer, competition 
which has been only in part averted by lessening 
yields due to wasteful and careless methods of 
farming. Indeed export statistics show that 
the production per acre has increased rather 
than decreased, owing to the occupation of more 
fertile land. Combined with this increase in 
production, as compared with home consum- 
tion, has gone a marvellous development in 
transportation facilities, which has brought the 
American farmer face to face with the farmers 
of every country on the globe. The farmer who 
is to succeed to-day needs to know something 
of the progress of the world. 

During the period since 1850 the proportionate 
production between agriculture and manufac- 
tures in the United States has greatly changed. 
At that time the value of manufactures was 
about one billion dollars, while the value of 
agricultural products was something like one 
and one-quarter billions. In 1900 the value of 
manufactures had reached the sum of thirteen 
billions, while agriculture aggregated less than 
five billions. 



THE EVOLUTION OF FARMING 9 

In 1820, of the total number of persons en- 
gaged in the three great industries, agriculture, 
commerce, and manufactures, about five-sixths 
were found in agriculture. In 1900 agriculture 
claimed less than one-half of those engaged in 
these industries. 

In 1870, for each 1000 persons over ten years 
old engaged in agriculture there were 1,112 
persons engaged in other gainful pursuits. In 
1900, there were 1,806 persons in other pursuits 
for each 1,000 in agriculture. 

Taken together these economic changes af- 
ford much encouragement to the American 
farmer. While the increase in area of improved 
land under cultivation outran population during 
the greater proportion of the last century, that 
condition has now passed. From henceforth 
the number of persons to be supplied with food 
from each acre of land must increase, not de- 
crease, at least so far as the United States itself 
is concerned. The statistics concerning the num- 
ber of persons engaged in the different occu- 
pations of life show that the proportionate 
number of customers for the farmer's products 
in the home market has constantly increased 
and will doubtless continue to increase in the 
future. 



CHAPTER II 

CAPITAL 

THE three primary or economic agencies 
which agriculture demands are land, 
labour, and capital. The adjustment of 
these agencies in the right proportion is an im- 
portant phase of successful farm management. 
Capital in its turn demands the proper adjust- 
ment between the various forms of "fixed" and 
*' circulating" capital. Fixed capital, as the 
term is used by economists, properly includes all 
forms of permanent equipment which are used 
in the conduct of the business, whether land, 
buildings, implements, teams, or other things 
which are used continuously or at different times. 
Circulating capital is a term limited to those 
forms which are used up in the process of pro- 
duction, the same portion never being used but 
once, but being continually replaced by other 
material of the same kind.* The accom- 
panying table will serve to illustrate the 
classification of farm capital under these two 
heads. 



♦Some economists restrict the meaning of the word capital to the money 
vahie of the commodities included and use the term "capital goods" to 
designate the objects themselves, such as buildings, live-stock, and implements. 

10 



CAPITAL 11 

CLASSIFICATION OF FARM CAPITAL 

A. — "Fixed," or Invested Capital 

1. Land 

Natural value 
Land improvement 

Wells, drains, roads, fences, orchards, etc. 

2. Buildings 

Dwelling 
Farm buildings 

Building equipment 

Silos, stalls, shafting, etc. 
Windmills 
8. Equipment 
Teams 
Implements 

Live stock used in production 
B. — "Circulating," or Working Capital 
Seed, feed, fertiliser, and supplies 
Market crops and market live stock growing or unsold 
Money required to pay labour and carry on the business 

Land represents a special form of capital in 
that it is a natural agent limited in amount. 
But the natural value of land is often far ex- 
ceeded by the improvements which have been 
put upon it in its development. Few of our 
Eastern farms would to-day sell for enough to 
pay for the labour which has been expended upon 
them in clearing the land, removing the rocks and 
stones, and in other work of improvement which 
has been expended upon the mere land itself. 

The dwelling does not properly represent a 



12 FARM MANAGEMENT 

part of the farm capital, except in so far as some 
portion of it may be devoted to strictly farming 
operations, such as a dairyroom connected with 
the dwelling. The dwelling represents the home 
element and is a personal expense, as much as is the 
home of the merchant or manufacturer which is 
entirely apart from his business. Its cost may be 
much or little without in any way affecting the 
financial status of the farm business. Yet since 
the farm and the home are generally combined in 
a single investment it is not always easy to sep- 
arate the two in making a study of farm capital. 
While the success of a farming venture is 
greatly dependent upon the proportionate ad- 
justment between land, labour, and other forms 
of capital, no rule can be laid down as to what 
the proportions should be. This will vary 
greatly with the type of business, the character 
of the market available, the tastes and ability 
of the farmer, and other factors of the individual 
problem. One fact, however, should be kept 
clearly in mind, which is that production is 
limited by the minimum amount of the one factor 
which is deficient, whichever that may be. With 
too little land, production cannot be large, no 
matter how much labour and capital may be 
available. With a deficient labour supply, land 
and equipment avail little. Land and labour 
together, with insuflScient equipment, are like- 
wise ineffective. 



CAPITAL 



13 



One law appears to hold in this matter of ad- 
justment. As the business grows more suc- 
cessful, or as competition forces a more careful 
study of the problem, there is a general increase 
of the proportionate investment toward the 
circulating end, a general movement, so to speak, 
of capital down the line from the more stable 
forms of fixed capital toward the most flexible 
forms of circulating capital. Land improve- 
ments increase; better buildings appear, and 
especially the equipment connected with these 
buildings, such as silos, improved fixtures, and 
conveniences increase. The equipment repre- 
sented in teams, implements, and live stock is 
brought up to the full needs of the business. 
More labour is employed and more money is 
expended in the conduct of the business. 

Census statistics do not show the proportion- 
ate adjustment between these different elements 
of production as they actually exist on the farms 
of the United States, although they do throw 
some light upon the problem. The following 
figures are taken from the census of 1900: 



AVERAGE FARM 


VALUES 






United States 


Northeastern 
Section 


Total value 

Land and improvements other 

than buildings 

Buildings, including dwelling 
Implements and machinery 
Live stock 


$3,574.00 

2,285.00 
620.00 
133.00 
536.00 


$4,355.00 

2,219.00 

1,437.00 

226.00 

473.00 



14 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



The amount expended for labour per farm is 
given as $64 for the United States and $105 for 
the northeastern section. This is merely the 
amount employed in addition to that of the 
farmer and his family. 

Arranged on the basis of each $1,000 invested 
these figures show the following ratios : 





United States 


Northeastern 
Section 


Land and improvements other 

than buildings 

Buildings, including dwelling . 
Implements and machinery. 
Live stock 


$ 640.00 

173.00 

37.00 

150.00 

$1,000.00 


$ 510.00 

330.00 

52.00 

108.00 

$1,000.00 



Compared in another way the figures show 
that for each $1,000 invested in land and its 
improvements other than buildings the follow- 
ing amounts are invested in other ways : 





United States 


Northeastern 
Section 


Buildings, including dwelling 
Implements and machinery 
Live stock 


$271.33 

58.20 

234.57 

$564.10 


$647.58 
101.94 
213.16 

$962.68 



The figures for buildings here include the 
value of the dwelling as well as that of other farm 
buildings. They show the investment in build- 
ings to be much larger in the northeastern sec- 
tion, which includes New England, New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, than 



CAPITAL 15 

in the United States as a whole. The invest- 
ment in implements and machinery and the 
amount paid for labour are also noticeably larger 
in this region, though the amount invested in 
live stock is smaller. This is the region in which 
intensive methods prevail to a greater extent 
than in other parts of the country. 

Let it not be forgotten that the above figures 
represent the average investment found on the 
farms of the country, including those of the poor 
farmers as well as the good ones. It should be 
further remembered that the common mistake 
is to place too large a proportion of the total 
investment in land, to become "land poor," and 
the rare mistake is to invest too much in equip- 
ment. 'It is safe to assume, therefore, that one 
who is to embark in farming in any region where 
fairly intensive methods prevail should, for every 
dollar invested in bare land, withhold at least 
another dollar for buildings and equipment. 
Or for each $1,000 invested in improved land 
with buildings he should reserve at least $250 
for implements and other equipment. 

Figures obtained from successful farmers in 
different parts of the country in answer to in- 
quiries sent out asking for information in regard 
to investments, operating expenses, etc., may be 
cited as bearing upon this question. The average 
figures for mixed farms are based upon twenty- 
three replies, those for stock and dairy farms 



16 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



upon fourteen replies. The figures show that 
for each $1,000 invested in land and improve- 
ments other than buildings, there are invested in 
other ways the following amounts: 





Mixed Farms 


Stock and 
Dairy Farms 


Dwelling 

Farm buildings 

Live stock, other than teams . 
Teams and tools .... 

Operating expenses .... 


$221.00 
263.00 
169.00 
128.00 

$781.00 
$217.00 


$139.00 

192.00 

342.00 

71.00 

$744.00 

$144.00 



On these farms, therefore, which are managed 
by successful, wide-awake men for the most 
part, for each $1,000 invested in land there is 
an investment of over $500 in equipment and 
farm buildings, exclusive of the dwelling. For 
each $1,000 invested in land and buildings as a 
whole, including the dwelling, about $200 is 
invested in equipment on the mixed farms and 
about $300 on the stock and dairy farms. The 
annual operating expenses amount to about 
$140 for each $1,000 of the total investment on 
the mixed farms and about $100 on the stock 
and dairy farms. 

Among these mixed farms were a few which 
did not show a profit after adding to the operat- 
ing expenses a charge of 5 per cent, for interest 
on the capital invested, 5 per cent, for deprecia- 
tion, repairs and insurance on buildings and 10 
per cent, for depreciation on teams and tools. 



CAPITAL 17 

These farms showed a relatively smaller invest- 
ment in farm buildings and Hve stock, with a 
relatively higher one in teams and tools, and 
relatively lower operating expenses. The most 
profitable farms did not vary greatly from the 
average, but showed a slightly higher relative in- 
vestment in farm buildings, with a slightly lower 
one in live stock and teams and tools, and 
slightly higher operating expenses. 

While the relative investment in buildings and 
equipment on the stock and dairy farms is less than 
on the mixed farms the actual amount is larger. 
The total investment on the stock and dairy 
farms averages $23,903.43, as against $12,393.92 
on the mixed farms. The above figures simply 
mean that on the stock and dairy farms a relative- 
ly larger amount is invested in land than on the 
mixed farms. 

Perhaps no phase of agriculture has received 
less careful study than this one of the proper 
adjustment and manipulation of the capital 
involved, yet none demands it more. One ad- 
vantage of agriculture as a business is that it 
may be begun with limited capital, as compared 
with many other lines, even with limited capital 
as compared with the needs of the business 
itself. Yet the man who so begins is seriously 
hampered, more so oftentimes than he himself 
may think. On the other hand the man with 
unlimited wealth often makes the mistake of 



18 FARM MANAGEMENT 

investing more in improvements and equipment 
than the business will warrant. The poor young 
mian is at least saved from this error. A study 
of figures such as the preceeding should serve a 
useful purpose to those who are contemplating 
agricultural investments. Some of the more 
common mistakes, at least, might thereby be 
avoided. 

A farmer once said to me that he believed no 
other line of business requires so much capital 
in proportion to the returns received as farming. 
He doubtless voiced the view of many farmers 
in this remark. While it is doubtful if statistics 
would prove this statement true on well-managed 
farms, it is true that many a farm yields a much 
smaller return on the invested capital than it 
should, because that capital is not well appor- 
tioned and well utilised. 



CHAPTER III 

LABOUR 

THE proper adjustment of the labour in- 
volved is one of the most diflScult prob- 
lems in farm management. Experience 
and careful study alone can tell how much labour 
can be profitably expended with a given 
amount of capital invested. In facing this 
problem it is well to bear in mind that certain 
expenses must first be met regardless of the 
amount of labour involved. It then follows 
that so long as an increase in labour can bring an 
approximate increase in return, so long should 
it be profitable to increase the expenditure in 
this line. 

To illustrate, let us assume a farm and equip- 
ment worth $6,000, with $1,000 of this in build- 
ings and $1,000 in team and tools. Allowing 
interest at 5% the following fixed charges are to 
be met: Interest on total investment, $300; de- 
preciation, repairs and insurance on buildings, 
at 5%, $50; depreciation on team and tools, at 
10%, $100. To be added to these may be esti- 
mated the following: Taxes and insurance, $50; 
help $200; supplies and incidentals $200, or 
an aggregate expense of $900. Supposing the 

19 



20 FARM MANAGEMENT 

total sales to amount to $1,000 there would be a 
net profit of $100, or 1§% on the invested capital. 
If now by the addition of $300 more in labour the 
total sales can be increased to $1,500, there is a 
net profit of $300, or 5% on the original invested 
capital. In other words the extra $300 has paid 
a return of 66f % on this particular part of the 
investment. 

\^^lile these are only imaginary figures I ven- 
ture the belief that they are figures which could 
be closely duplicated on many a farm. Let no 
one assume, however, that because his own 
operations resemble the first case, the expenditure 
of $300 more for labour will make them like 
the second case. That depends upon himself 
and the conditions which he must meet. Labour 
poorly employed is a worse investment than too 
little labour. 

WINTER LABOUR 

Another problem, both important and difficult, 
is the adjustment of the system of operations 
in such a way as to employ as nearly as possible 
a uniform amount of labour throughout the 
season or throughout the year. Rarely are 
conditions such that labour can be taken on and 
dropped at the convenience of the person hiring. 
Even when possible to do this it will usually be 
at the expense of quality. The man who can 



LABOUR 21 

assure the workman a steady place throughout 
the year is sure to attract the better class of men, 
other things being equal. 

In this lies one of the chief advantages of a 
well-chosen rotation or combination of special- 
ties. Few single lines can be made to furnish a 
uniform, continuous demand for labour. If a 
system can be devised which will call for in- 
creased labour from one line when another 
ceases to demand it the gain will be great. The 
hardest problem in ordinary lines of farming 
is to provide for work during winter. There is 
little trouble to arrange matters during eight 
months, or two- thirds of the year; the difficulty 
comes with the other third, during the dead of 
winter. 

No one plan will fit all cases. On many 
farms, especially in New England and other 
parts of the East where much rough land exists, 
the farm woodlot, properly managed, offers one 
of the simplest but best solutions of the winter 
labour problem. If much of the fand which 
now yields scant return with heavy expense for 
tillage were turned over to systematic forest 
management the gain would be great both to 
the owners and to the community. Let the 
woodland be treated as any other part of the 
farm is treated, as a crop which should yield an 
average annual return ; then let the management 
be such as to increase this return. So managed 



22 FARM MANAGEMENT 

many a piece of forest land will make good use 
of the surplus winter labour and easily foot all 
bills. 

Firewood need not be the only product of 
such management. Few forests will fail to yield 
more valuable forms of timber if properly aided. 
Even if the quality of lumber obtained be not 
of the best it may be made available for many 
farm uses, including fencing, repairs for imple- 
ments, homemade devices, potato crates, egg 
cases, etc. If of fair quality, apple boxes may 
form one of the products. I yet expect to meet 
the ingenious man who has developed from the 
farm woodlot a winter factory for some toy, 
article of wooden ware, rustic furniture, or 
similar product which will yield as profitable a 
return as the summer's operations in the field. 
Where sugar maple trees form a part of the 
forest the making of sugar and syrup affords a 
profitable employment for a time at the close of 
winter. 

Upon the basis of data gathered by the study 
of different tracts the Forest Service of the 
United States Department of Agriculture esti- 
mates that white pine in New England should 
yield a net annual return of $1.15 per acre, paid 
at the expiration of forty years, in addition to 
4% compound interest on the money invested.* 
This estimate contemplates planting the seed. 



* Bureau of Forestry, Bulletin No. 45, p. 40. 



LABOUR 23 

growing the young trees in the nursery and trans- 
planting them to the tract to be used. One 
experiment on wornout pasture land, reported 
from Smithfield, R. I., seemed to show a gain of 
over 6% on the original investment, during a 
period of fifty-seven years.* 

The winter dairy does much to solve the 
winter- work problem. Stock always demands 
more attention in winter than in summer. If 
this variation is augmented by producing most 
of the milk in winter, the care and manufacture 
of it, particularly if butter is made on the farm, 
will utilise much of the time. The care of the 
manure adds another not inconsiderable item to 
the work demanded, for in general agricultural 
practice there is no better way to store the manure 
than by spreading it on the field where it is to be 
wanted. None should accumulate about the 
barns. 

Added to the regular work of the dairy it may 
be possible to carry on the feeding of calves, cows, 
or steers for beef. This will sometimes employ 
labour, yield some profit, and add greatly to the 
fertility of the farm. 

Winter lambs offer another field of endeavour 
for those properly situated. All such lines of 
work which require extra labour in winter are 
of value in solving this problem, not all in any 
one place but each in the place best suited to it. 

♦Rhode Island State Board of Agriculture Report 1899, p. 159. 



24 FARM MANAGEMENT 

If to the winter dairy can be added the pro- 
duction of winter eggs, perhaps utilising in part 
the skim-milk to stimulate the egg production, 
this will prove in many cases the most feasible 
and a most satisfactory solution of the problem. 
These are lines which require little change from 
the general operations of the farm. The pro- 
ducts, both of the dairy and of the hennery, 
bring much better prices at this season of the 
year, and while they must be produced at an 
increased cost, the returns and the advantages in 
other ways fully repay the increase. If made a 
specialty in winter there is less to interfere and 
they are less likely to be neglected than in sum- 
mer when many kinds of work are crowding for 
attention at the same time. 

To some the forcing: of rhubarb in the cellar 
may afford a line of work demanding a fraction 
of the time and yielding a modest return. If 
cellar room is available and a market is at hand 
the roots may be easily grown in the open field 
during summer, turned out at the approach of 
freezing weather and allowed to freeze, then 
transferred to the cellar for winter growth. I 
know of no more attractive product within the 
possibilities of farm production than this. 

A few may find it advisable to go still further 
in this line and attempt the forcing of vegetables 
or the growing of flowers under glass. On one 
such farm which I know, the work is confined 



LABOUR 25 

largely to the growing of vegetable plants, such 
as tomato and cabbage, to be sold for trans- 
planting in spring, and common flowering plants, 
like geranium, to be sold for bedding-out. These 
are sold through grocers at moderate prices but 
the aggregate income from the business is far 
larger than many farms yield from their entire 
output. Not all have the taste, the capital or 
the market for this line of work, but the capital 
and the market are oftentimes forthcoming if 
there exists the inclination, followed by the at- 
tempt to find them. The business just referred 
to was established at a point some fifteen miles 
from the principal market, with no means of 
communication other than by team. The young 
man who started it was told that he could find 
no sale for his products if he should grow them. 
Yet at the present time the sales from these 
simple things amount to some three thousand 
dollars each year. The business is run as a 
department of the larger farming operations and 
is in charge of one son, while others have charge 
of other departments. During the winter it 
requires the work of himself and one other man. 

In a few localities the growing of violets has 
become a prominent industry. This however, 
is a more difficult undertaking and is not to be 
generally recommended. 

Aside from these main lines of business which 
demand a greater amount of labour in winter 



26 FARM MANAGEMENT 

than in summer there are many things connected 
with the ordinary management of the farm 
which can or must be attended to in winter. 
Where ice forms a prominent part of the yearly 
supplies the harvesting of this crop calls for 
busy work during a short portion of the time. 
In localities where fall plowing is advisable this 
calls for steady work of men and teams up to the 
very day when Nature locks her workshop and 
carries away the key. Although not a practice 
to be everywhere recommended, where the 
ground is likely to remain frozen throughout the 
winter and to be protected by a covering of snow, 
fall plowing will greatly forward the work of 
spring, while at the same time leaving the soil 
in excellent tilth for the early seeding. 

Often there is needed work upon farm roads, 
bridges, and fences, which can be done wholly 
or in part during winter. Whatever must be 
done at some time and can be done in winter is 
doubly important because of the saving at a 
time when every hour is of the utmost value. 
When the corn crop is husked in part, the work 
of husking often runs well into the winter, though 
modern methods are more and more doing away 
with this long and tedious process. Where 
fruits form any considerable part of the business 
of the farm, much of the pruning can be done 
during mild weather in winter. While some 
pruning is best delayed until hard freezing 



LABOUR n 

weather is past much of it can be done as well 
at one time as at another. 

Whatever the line of farming, there are always 
tools to be put in repair and painted; winter 
affords the best time for doing this. A coat of 
paint or oil at intervals will do much to prolong 
the life of many farm implements. Buildings 
may also be painted during mild weather. At 
that season there are no flies and little dust. 

But the final word regarding winter work 
has not been said. I deem it an advantage, at 
least to the farmer himself, that work is less 
pressing in winter. Summer days are long and 
summer work is fatiguing. There is then little 
time or inclination for recreation or study. A 
business resting upon such intricate foundations 
as this surely needs careful thought and study 
for its successful prosecution. Winter should 
be a time of study. Well improved hours so 
spent yield the greatest profit of any. Above 
all it should ever be remembered that the farm 
is for the family, not the family for the farm, 
a condition too often true. The farm should 
be made to contribute to the higher life of its occu- 
pants as well as to their material needs. It can 
best do that during the leisure hours of winter. 

MANUAL LABOUR 

From a business standpoint labour separates 
itself into manual and team labour. Manual 



28 FARM IMANAGEMENT 

labour may be again divided into monthly and 
day labour, each of which possesses certain 
advantages. The chief advantages of monthly 
labour are (1) The less cost per hour. (2) Avail- 
ability when needed. (3) A better class of 
workmen. 

The chief advantage of day labour is that 
it need be employed only when wanted, against 
which should be sharply contrasted the dis- 
advantage that it cannot always be had when 
wanted. Mixing the two types is likely to cause 
dissatisfaction. The man working at monthly 
wages receives a lower wage per hour, and when 
doing the same work as his fellow workman he is 
inclined to feel himself aggrieved at receiving this 
smaller stipend. It is hard for him to properly 
weigh the advantage of continuous employment, 
which the other does not have. He may lose 
sight of the fact that much of his time may 
scarcely return cost to his employer. In general, 
the best workmen go where they can be assured 
of steady work. It is, therefore, good business 
policy to plan the farm operations in such a way 
as to furnish steady work to the main force 
required. Emergency help will always be needed, 
but if employed only in emergencies will seldom 
cause dissatisfaction. 

Another factor which enters into the employ- 
ment of labour is the comparative advantage 
of employing married men or single men. As 



LABOUR 29 

a rule married men are more faithful, contented 
and regular; perhaps also more persevering. 
They cannot move so easily, hence are less likely 
to leave unexpectedly, or at a time when their 
services can least be spared. As a disadvantage 
they commonly demand more wages, if not in 
actual money wage, then in perquisites of one 
kind or another. In many cases the employ- 
ment of married men will necessitate the pro- 
viding of tenement houses in which they may 
live. These are usually furnished rent-free to 
men employed. If children are in the families 
these may at times be a source of profit by fur- 
nishing the opportunity to employ less expensive 
labour where it can be used to advantage. On 
the other hand, they often cause annoyance 
about the premises. 

Perquisites will cause dissatisfaction, especi- 
ally if many men are employed. It seldom 
happens in that case that all will want the same 
things, or at least the same amount of different 
things. It is then but human nature for each 
to feel that the other is receiving more than his 
share. Furthermore, in all cases, unless per- 
quisites are definitely limited in amount, they 
tend to cause waste. It is often the part of 
good business management to do away with 
perquisites of all sorts, unless perhaps in the 
mattei of house-rent. It is just as easy to 
make the labourer's wages sufficient to pay for 



30 FARM MANAGEMENT 

these things, then sell them to him, at a reduced 
price if preferred, as to give them in part payment 
of wages. He will then use only what he needs. 

THE LABOUR PROBLEM 

A word should be said about the labour prob- 
lem itself, which is one of the most serious diffi- 
culties confronting farmers at the present time. 
The development of manufacturing and other 
business industries has offered employment at 
wages which seemed to be better, even though 
in the net results to the laborour they may not 
have been better. The factory has offered 
definite hours, with steady employment and 
regular weekly pay. The chance for an inde- 
pendent home has appealed to many; the 
fascination of the city or village has attracted 
others. How to meet the competition induced 
by these conditions is the problem which faces 
the farmer. Regular employment, reasonable 
hours, and a comfortable, independent home will 
accomplish much. The wages paid must yield 
an equivalent return to those offered by city 
industries. To make the labourer understand 
the difference in the ultimate value of the dollar 
in the city and the dollar in the country is the 
hardest problem of all. 

An encouraging indication is the fact that 
large farming enterprises, which demand most 



/-. A >, •>. 




LABOUR 31 

labour, but which provide the above conditions, 
have the least trouble in securing it, even though 
farmers in the neighbourhood are crying for 
help. 

TIME CARDS 

Time cards are discussed under the heading 
of Records and Accounts, and the manner of 
keeping them fully explained. It is here only 
necessary to emphasise their importance as a 
record for showing where the time has been 
employed, thereby making it possible to deter- 
mine the cost of each crop or line of effort and 
the consequent profit or loss attendant upon 
it. If a separate sheet is kept for each man 
employed it will also serve as a record of lost 
time and avoid possible disputes. 

THE AVERAGE COST OF LABOUR 

To determine the average cost per hour of 
labour employed it is necessary to divide the whole 
sum paid by the number of hours worked. To 
this sum should also be added the cost of over- 
sight if a manager or superintendent is employed, 
or the value of the labour of the farmer if he is 
his own manager. This latter case at once 
presents a puzzling question. Shall the farmer 
fix the value of his own labour at an arbitrary 
price or shall he let that be determined by the 
profit received ? If he decides upon a certain 



32 FARM MANAGEMENT 

figure as right for his own labour it will be the 
part of good business management for him never 
to do work which he can hire done for a less 
sum. He may find, however, if he attempts to 
put this rule into effect, that he has placed too 
high a value upon his own services. In deter- 
mining the profit or loss from a given line of work 
it is but fair that his own time should be con- 
sidered worth at least as much as that of the 
regular men employed, but in summing up the 
year's business he may prefer to let the net 
returns of the. vear determine the value of his own 
services. 

CONTRACT LABOUR 

Contract labour is a type comparatively little 
in vogue in farming operations, yet it possesses 
manifest advantages where applicable. It is 
advantageous wherever it is possible to say just 
how work should be done and know that it is 
so done. The cost of oversight is then thrown 
upon the one who undertakes the labour. It 
also tends to increase his efficiency, because it 
is to his interest to complete the work as soon as 
possible. The plan is frequently employed in 
reaping grain, in harvesting and husking corn, 
in plowing, in digging potatoes, etc. It is also 
employed at times by gardeners in weeding and 
similar work. Wherever applicable the method 
is worthy of consideration and might be con- 
siderably extended with advantage. 



LABOUR 33 

PROFIT SHARING 

The advantages of profit sharing may be 
summarised as follows: 

1 . The labourer is working for his own interest 
as well as for that of his employer. 

2. It makes labourers more careful in their 
work. 

3. It is a good thing for the labourer to have 
some inside knowledge of the business. 

4. Strikes are less likely to occur. 

This latter point, while not a question of im- 
minent concern in farming lines as yet, may 
be in time to come. The chief disadvantage 
of the plan is that it may lead to criticism of the 
owner's estimate of profits or manner of doing 
business. "WTien introduced the system should 
carry an obligation of the same percentage of loss 
if loss occurs, as the percentage of profit to be 
received in case there are profits to be distrib- 
uted. The percentage should be large enough 
to be an object to the workman but not large 
enough to embarrass the owner in conducting the 
business. If the percentage is so great as to 
take on something of the character of a partner- 
ship the labourer may fe^l like dictating the 
policy of the management. The system is 
satisfactorily employed in many manufacturing 
establishments and there is apparently no reason 
why it should not be employed with equal 



34 FARM MANAGEMENT 

satisfaction in farming operations. A limited 
personal experience with the method has thus far 
developed no serious objection.* 

TEAM LABOUR 

The total cost of team labour is made up of 
the following items: 

1. Feed. 5. Interest. 

2. Bedding. 6. Depreciation. 

3. Shoeing. 7. Stable rental. 

4. Care. 

The last three of these items are likely to be 
overlooked. Care is an important item. It will 
average about one hour per day for a pair of 
horses, and should be charged at the actual cost 
per hour of the man employed. Depreciation 
cannot be escaped. The greater the value 
of the team, the greater the charge for depre- 
ciation must be. The sixth item will seem to 
many an unwarranted charge, but if a barn 
costing $500 is given up to the use of the teams 
the interest and depreciation on this building can 
be charged to no other source than this. Money 
must be tied up in this building and money must 

♦An interesting system of profit sharing is in use in one extensive farming 
enterprise near Harrisburg, Pa. On the dairy farms a dairyman is employed who 
has nothing to do with tlie farming operations, other than to cut what green food 
may be needed for feeding from day to day in summer. He furnishes all labour 
needed in caring for the dairy and receives one cent a quart from all milk sold. 
This plan has been found to give better satisfaction than hiring the dairyman oa 
salary, although all other farm operations are carried on by hiring outright. 



LABOUR 35 

be expended to keep it in repair. This is a 
legitimate charge against the cost of team service- 
Prices vary so much in different places that it is 
impossible to estimate fairly the first four items, 
but in general they will approximate $220 per 
year. Adding to these, interest on the investment 
at 5% and depreciation, which will generally 
amount to 10%, on the team itself, will emphasise 
the added cost of owning a high-priced team. If 
a span of horses is valued at $400 the yearly 
charge for depreciation alone is $40, while if the 
team is worth but $100 the depreciation charge 
is only $10. The same rule holds true with 
regard to the barn and other fixtures. Off- 
setting this greater depreciation charge should 
be considered the question of whether the four- 
hundred-dollar team is more efficient than the 
two-hundred-dollar one. If so that may more 
than counterbalance the added cost, though 
upon general business principles it is seldom wise 
to invest in high-priced horseflesh. 

REDUCING COST OF MAINTENANCE 

Horsemen generally agree that no ration is 
better for horses than timothy hay and oats. 
Yet comparisons with this have generally been 
made with some ration differing entirely in com- 
position. As a general rule nutrients in oats 
cost more than in other forms of feed. It may 



36 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



well be asked, therefore, whether it is not possible 
to substitute other feeds which will furnish the 
same amount of nutrients with satisfactory 
results and at a saving of expense. The follow- 
ing rations, some of which have been tried with 
good results, are suggested: 

RATIONS FOR A 1000-POUND HORSE 



I, 


Standard Ration 






Protein 


Carbohydrates 


10 lbs. hay (timothy) 

12 lbs. oats 


.290 
1.100 
1.390 


4.690 

6.384 

11.074 



J. Ration One-third Oats 



2. Ration 


Without Oats 




8 lbs. hay .... 




.232 


3.752 


4 lbs. oat straw . 




.056 


1.836 


5 lbs. wheat bran 




.600 


2.270 


4 lbs. corn meal . 




.220 


2.844 


1 lb. gluten meal (28%) 




.280 


.569 






1.388 


11.271 



8 lbs. hay 


.232 


3.752 


4 lbs. oat straw 


.056 


1.836 


4 lbs. oats 


.368 


2.128 


3 lbs. bran 


.360 


1.400 


2 lbs. corn meal 


.110 


1.422 


1 lb. gluten 


.280 


.569 




1.406 


11.107 



4, Ration Without 


Gluten 




10 lbs. hay 


.290 


4.690 


4 lbs. oats 


.368 


2.128 


3 lbs. bran 


.360 


1.400 


2 lbs. wheat middlings . 


.256 


1.218 


2 lbs. corn meal 


.110 


1.422 




1.384 


10.858 



LABOUR 37 

The amount saved by these rations will de- 
pend much upon the prices prevailing at the time. 
If hay were worth $10 per ton, oat straw $5 and 
all the grains $20, rations Nos. 2 and 3 would 
effect a saving of two cents per day and ration 
Noo 4 one cent. With oats above thirty-two 
cents per bushel and the other grains at $20 per 
ton the saving would be proportionately greater. 
If thought desirable to feed some silage, five 
pounds of silage can replace one pound of corn 
meal or two pounds of hay in any of these 
rations. They are suggested rather than recom- 
mended, but they serve to show that it is possible 
to combine other grains in such a way as to 
secure approximately the same proportion of 
nutrients as are found in the horseman's favourite 
ration of timothy hay and oats. 

REDUCING COST PER UNIT OF WORK 

While something can be done to reduce the 
cost of maintenance this will affect only a minor 
saving. The vital point is to reduce the cost 
per hour of work done. To determine this it is 
necessary to divide the cost of maintenance, 
which includes all the items above mentioned, by 
the number of hours worked. If it costs $20 a 
month to own a team and that team works 250 
hours during the month, the cost per hour is 
eight cents. If, on the other hand, the team 
works but 125 hours, the cost is sixteen cents per 



38 FARM MANAGEMENT 

hour; yet there are many teams upoh the farms 
of the United States which doubtless fail to 
average 100 hours per month for the entire year. 
It is never possible to obtain 100 per cent, of 
efficiency. Various causes will prevent a team 
being kept constantly at work, but it is possible 
to reach 75 per cent, or even 85 per cent. Before 
me is the time worked by three teams during the 
month of May 1901, a month when farm teams 
are likely to be employed at their best. One of 
these teams worked 189 hours, another 230 and 
the third 163. During August two of these 
teams worked 149 and 137 hours respectively. 
Here the best record shows a little more than 88 
per cent, of efficiency, the poorest one slightly 
more than 52 per cent. If the farmer is so 
located that it is possible for him to hire extra 
team work when needed it may pay him to hire 
a considerable amount during the busy season, 
even at a liberal price, rather than maintain an 
extra team for the year to provide for this needed 
work. This, like many of the other problems 
in farm management, demands careful study 
and planning in order to insure a satisfactory 
solution. 

THREE- AND FOUR-HORSE TEAMS 

In many kinds of work an extra horse will 
greatly cheapen the cost of doing the work. 
Under ordinary conditions an average team will 




2 " 

W g 

> c; 

OS o 
<; 



LABOUR 39 

haul a ton and a half or 3,000 pounds of load. 
To this must be added at least 1,000 pounds to 
cover the weight of wagon and driver, making 
the actual weight pulled by each horse 2,000 
pounds. If now a third horse can be added, with 
the same rig, another ton may be added to the 
load without increasing the work to be done by 
each horse, for the strength of the extra horse 
can all be expended in drawing the load. Where 
a two-horse team draws 3,000 pounds a three- 
horse team would then draw 5,000 pounds. 
Reckoning the cost per hour at thirty cents, fifteen 
cents for the man and fifteen cents for the team, 
the cost per ton with two horses is twenty cents 
per hour, but the third horse works without 
additional cost for driver so that this extra ton is 
hauled at a cost of seven and a half cents per 
hour. The same principle will apply in plowing 
or harrowing, where the addition of an extra 
horse will often add at least 50 per cent, to the 
work done without increased cost for driver. 
Under some conditions four horses may be used 
in the same manner with proportionately still 
greater advantage. 



CHAPTER IV 

IMPLEMENTS AND EQUIPMENT 

NO EXPENSIVE implement or costly 
equipment should be introduced with- 
out first carefully putting the probabilities 
to a test to determine whether or not the 
investment will pay. To do this, first determine 
how much labour will be saved by the improve- 
ment. If the implement will do better or poorer 
work than can be done without it, that must be 
taken into consideration. Then against the 
cost of doing the work without the equipment 
set the cost of work with it, to which must be 
added interest on the investment, depreciation, 
care, and sometimes storage and risk or insur- 
ance. With this should be considered also the 
needs of capital elsewhere. Will it yield a better 
return in some other place ? 

Another most important item may sometimes 
be the determining factor, namely, the possibility 
of securing hand labour to do the work without 
the implement. Even though ordinary labour 
may be cheaper it cannot always be had. This 
is particularly true with operations requiring an 
unusual amount of labour at some particular 
time. The time element alone is suflficient to 

40 



IMPLEMENTS AND EQUIPMENT 41 

decide the matter in many cases. When frost 
is imminent or has already occurred the silage 
corn must be harvested with the least possible 
delay. A slight delay at seeding time may lead 
into a rain-storm and thereby call for the added 
expense of refitting the ground, with possible re- 
duction in yield due to a belated crop. An 
implement which will hasten the work at such 
times may prove highly profitable, even though 
the cost of the work itself be increased. 

The charges for interest, depreciation, repairs, 
etc., are to be apportioned to the amount of work 
done, so that this is really most often the deter- 
mining factor. The following tabular statements 
will illustrate the manner of solving the problem. 
The particular figures, especially those with 
reference to cost of work, will vary with the 
locality. Emphasis should not be placed 
upon them in studying the illustrations but 
upon the business method of determining 
whether or not an implement will prove 
profitable. 



ELEMENTS OF COST IN THE 


FARM IMPLEMENT PROBLEM 


With the Machine 


Without the Machine 


Labour-cost 


Labour-cost 


Fixed annual charges: 
Interest on capital, 




depreciation, repairs, 
care, storage and risk 
EflBciency 


Efficiency 



42 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



(Applied to a particular implement, the problem may work out somewhat 
s follows) 

Corn Harvester— Price, 1325.00 



With the Machine 


Without the Machine 


Labour, per acre, $.50 




to $.75 (Man and 

team $3 per day) 

Twine, per acre, $.50 


Labour per acre, $1.50 
to $2.00 


Total $1. to $1.25 




Fixed annual charges 




Interest at 5% $ 6.25 




Depreciation, 10% 12.50 
Repairs 2.00 
Storage and risk 1.00 




$21.75 





These figures represent approximately the 
problem as applied to a corn harvester under 
present conditions of price and efficiency. Six 
acres per day is a liberal estimate for the amount 
of work done, though it may be exceeded under 
very favourable conditions. One recent writer 
claims that the most that a machine can do is 
to equal the work of four men cutting by hand 
and that to do this requires two or three horses 
and two men. This, however, is probably less 
than average working results. The cost of twine 
will vary with price and the yield of corn. 

I have added one dollar to the fixed annual 
charges for storage and risk. This may seem 
to many a needless charge, but the corn har- 
vester is a somewhat bulky implement and re- 
quires a certain portion of a building in which 
it shall be housed. That proportion of the 




ff.' 



IMPLEMENTS AND EQUIPMENT 43 

interest on the investment and the depreciation 
on the building must be borne unless the imple- 
ment is allowed to stand out of doors, when the 
charge would be much greater for depreciation. 
The amount of these fixed charges, which here 
aggregate $21.75, must be apportioned to the 
number of acres of com harvested. If only ten 
acres are cut there must be $2.17 per acre added 
to the one dollar or more of actual cost in doing 
the work. If twenty acres are harvested but 
half of this amount is charged to each acre. 

The problem will differ from this point on, 
owing to whether the corn is to be shocked and 
husked, or put into the silo. If to be taken to 
the silo the cost of cutting by hand will fall to 
perhaps one dollar per acre but the cost of hand- 
ling the unbound stalks will be much greater than 
handling it in bundles as left by the harvester. 
It is generally believed that the charge for twine 
may be recouped in the cost of handling. This 
question can be easily put to a test under the 
conditions prevailing, by simply allowing the 
harvester to work for a time without binding. 
If the corn is to be shocked there must be added 
to the one dollar charge with the machine the 
cost of shocking, which will bring the first cost 
of work very near if not equal to that by hand, 
leaving all fixed charges as an additional expense. 
These figures indicate that the young farmer who 
still lacks capital need not feel himself greatly 



44 FARM MANAGEMENT 

handicapped from inability to purchase a corn 
harvester, provided he can obtain the labour 
when wanted to do the work by hand. 

It is sometimes possible to hire a machine, or 
the owner and the machine, to do such work. 
This is often the cheapest and wisest thing to do. 
It relieves the party who hires from all fixed 
charges and may not greatly increase the labour 
cost. It may also benefit the owner of the ma- 
chine, reducing the apportionment of his own 
fixed charges by increasing the amount of work 
done. This practice is most common in thresh- 
ing grain and filling silos but is applicable to 
many other kinds of work. 

A somewhat different problem is presented in 
figuring upon a cream separator. Here the cost 
of creaming with a separator probably differs 
little from that under improved systems of deep 
setting. In this case it is wholly a problem of 
efficiency. This difference in efficiency cannot 
be reduced to an absolutely accurate basis but 
estimates generally place it at 10 to 20% greater 
with the separator than with other methods, 
manufacturers claiming five to ten dollars per 
cow increase in cream products. If then a 
separator cost $125 the fixed charges would 
amount to $6.25 for interest and $12.50 for 
depreciation, at the same rates allowed on the 
corn harvester. Repairs will probably be slight 
if well handled, while the matter of care comes 



IMPLEMENTS AND EQUIPMENT 45 

in connection with the labour-cost of doing the 
work. Owing to the small size of the implement 
the question of storage may practically be neg- 
lected. We have then an annual charge of less 
than twenty dollars as the cost of owning a ma- 
chine. Perhaps the actual depreciation would 
be less than 10 per cent but thus far prices have 
been falling so rapidly that the market depre- 
ciation on machines, regardless of wear, has been 
nearly or quite equal to this amount. If inquiry 
now shows that the lowest estimate of the manu- 
facturer, $5 per cow increase, is likely to be 
realised, the additional return from four cows 
will pay the cost of owning the machine and the 
return from any greater number will be clear 
'•profit. 

SIZE OF MACHINERY 

Another problem in connection with the pur- 
chase of machinery has often to be met. This 
is determining upon the size of machine to be 
bought. Here it is only necessary to place 
against the extra cost of doing work with the 
smaller size, the interest and depreciation on 
the added cost of a larger size. Take the prob- 
lem of a cream separator on a farm carrying ten 
cows. Assuming that the cows will average 
5,000 pounds of milk per year there will be 10 
times 5,000 or 50,000 pounds of milk to separate 
during that time. If upon inquiry one is satis- 



46 FARM MANAGEMENT 

fied that the machines can be expected, under 
average conditions, to do the work which they 
are rated to do and if it should be found that a 
machine separating 450 pounds of milk per hour 
will cost $100, and one separating 600 pounds 
per hour will cost $125, the problem will work 
out like this. 50,000 pounds divided by 450 
equals 111, the number of hours of work demand- 
ed by the smaller machine. If this work costs 
ten cents per hour the labour charge for actually 
running the milk through will be $11.10. 50,000 
divided by 600 gives 83 hours of work or 
$8.30 for the larger machine. The cost of care 
and cleaning will be practically the same in 
either case, so that the additional cost of doing 
the work with the smaller machine will be $2.80. 
Against this should be set the interest and de- 
preciation on $25, the additional cost of the 
larger machine. These items at 10% and 5% 
respectively, would amount to $3.75, thus show- 
ing the advantage to be with the smaller machine. 
If the problem considers twenty cows, the result 
would lead to the opposite conclusion. In a 
similar way it is possible to test the question of 
size on different classes of machines. 

DEPRECIATION 

In this connection a word of emphasis should 
be placed upon the matter of depreciation. It is 



IMPLEMENTS AND EQUIPMENT 47 

a charge from which none can escape, but it 
can be very greatly lessened by judicious manage- 
ment. In the problems here considered 10% 
is taken as an average estimate, but this 
will vary greatly with the tool and the care. A 
crowbar or a post-maul may be as good at the 
end of twenty-five years as when bought, while a 
harness may be worse than useless in less than 
ten years. Care in use, in cleaning, and in 
housing, will do much to extend the life of an 
implement, which means less reduction in the 
inventory value, therefore an increase in profits, 
just as surely as does an added sale of products. 
As an illustration, I know a farm upon which 
there was a good farm wagon, rather light but 
adequate for the work of the farm. It was a good 
wagon when I first remember; it was agood wagon 
many years after, when burned with the barn 
in which it stood. Yet that wagon was bought 
second-hand. It was in the hands of a man who 
knew how to care for things and it was still in 
good condition when his life-work was done. 



CHAPTER V 



OWNERSHIP OR RENTAL 



A PROBLEM which must often be met 
by the young man who wishes to start 
in farming is that of ownership or rental. 
Shall he run in debt for a farm or shall he 
rent one ? If the latter, shall he take a farm 
on shares or shall he pay money rent? The 
question admits of a logical answer, on a business 
basis, if he will carefully ascertain the prob- 
abilities and figure out the elements involved. 
To illustrate the problem let us suppose the case 
to be that of an ordinary dairy farm of 100 acres, 
capable of carrying twenty cows. The capital 
invested is likely to be found somewhat as follows : 

Land, 100 acres @ $35 $3,500.00 

Buildings 1,500.00 

20 cows @ $35 700.00 

Young stock, swine and poultry. . . . 300.00 

Team and tools 500.00 

$6,500.00 

The expenses of ownership and operation may 
be estimated as follows: 

Interest on capital $6,500 @ 5% . . . $325.00 
Depreciation, repairs and insurance on build- 
ings, 5%. 75.00 

48 



OWNERSHIP OR RENTAL 49 

Depreciation on team and tools, 10%*. . 50.00 

Taxes 40.00 

Seed 60.00 

Feed purchased 200.00 

Labour, including that of farmer himself . 600.00 

Supplies and incidentals 150.00 

$1,500.00 

If then the young man buys the place these 
are the expenses which he must bear. With this 
compare the other two methods. If he hires the 
place without stock for a cash rental he shifts to 
the shoulders of the owner the following expenses : 

Interest on capital in land and buildings . $250.00 
Depreciation, repairs and insurance on build- 
ings 75.00 

Taxes 40.00 

$365.00 

With these figures should be compared the 
rental which must be paid. The problem will 
differ slightly with varying practice and con- 
ditions. In some cases a farm already stocked 
with cows may be rented, in which case a still 
greater portion of the interest shifts. Sometimes 
the owner furnishes fencing material or even 
keeps fences in repair. 

By the third plan, working the place on shares, 
different conditions may apply. The problem 
is simply to adapt the figures to the proposed 



* Depreciation in the dairy may be provided for and offset by growth of 
young stock. 



50 FARM MANAGEMENT 

terms of the contract. The common condition 
is for the owner to furnish the dairy and perhaps 
some young stock, the tenant to leave as much 
and as good stock as he found. The tenant 
usually furnishes team and tools, though in some 
cases, particularly where the owner has pre- 
viously occupied the place himself, many tools 
are left. The expenses of taxes, seed, feed and 
supplies are shared equally. In some places where 
the practice of working out the road tax still pre- 
vails the tenant does this and the owner pays the 
money tax. All help is furnished by the tenant. 
Under common conditions the running ex- 
penses adjust themselves as follows: 

BORNE BY THE OWNER 

Interest on land, buildings and stock . . $300.00 

Depreciation, repairs and insurance on building 75.00 

Taxes, one half 20.00 

Seed 30.00 

Feed purchased 100.00 

Supplies 50.00 

$575.00 

BORNE BY THE TENANT 

Interest on team and tools $ 25,00 

Depreciation on team and tools . . . 50.00 

Taxes, one-half 20.00 

Seed 30.00 

Feed 100.00 

Incidentals, one-half of supplies 100.00 

Labour 600.0Q 

$925.00 



OWNERSHIP OR RENTAL 



51 



To answer the question intelligently it is still 
necessary to make a careful estimate of probable 
returns. These will vary with almost every 
farm. Suppose we apply them to an ordinary 
farm remote from markets, with ordinary cows 
which can be trusted to average only 200 pounds 
of butter per year. The conditions assumed 
above suppose enough young stock coming on 
so that a number of the poorer or older cows can 
be each year replaced with younger ones. We 
may estimate returns as follows: 



4,000 lbs. butter, @ 20 cents . . . 


. . $800.00 


Calves and cows sold 


. . 250.00 


4,000 lbs. pork, @ 5 cents .... 


. . 200.00 


500 dozen eggs, @ 20 cents .... 


. . 100.00 


500 bushels potatoes, @ 40 cents 


. . 200.00 


Incidentals 


. . 100.00 







$1,650.00 

In making this estimate the young man should 
carefully discount all probabilities. It is easy 
to say that cows ought to average 250 pounds of 
butter instead of 200, or that five acres of po- 
tatoes ought to yield 1,000 bushels instead of 
500, but will they.? Untoward conditions are 
sure to appear. It is better to make the esti- 
mates safe. 

Now see how the account stands for the three 
different propositions. In the first case there 
is a return of $1,650 against an outlay of $1,500, 
provided he can get the necessary capital at 5%. 



52 FARM IVIANAGEMENT 

In the system of money rental there is the same 
return against an outlay of $1,135, plus the 
rental to be paid. By working on shares there is a 
return of $825 against an outlay of $925. If the 
cash rental is less than $365 the advantage lies 
with that system; if more, with ownership. 

THE ELEMENT OF RISK 

The chief argument which appeals to the 
young man for working a place on shares is that 
he runs less risk. This factor also admits of a 
business analysis. By the system of money 
rental he transfers to the owner the risk from loss 
of buildings by fire or the elements, but nothing 
else, except that he assumes the burden of in- 
terest on capital, in the rental paid, only for the 
time of his contract. The greater part of this risk 
by fire, and sometimes by wind, will be assumed 
by an insurance company at a cost which has 
been provided for in the above estimates and 
which is of small importance in the problem. 

In the case of share rental the tenant transfers 
to the owner, in addition to the above risks, 
one-half of possible increased cost of seed, feed 
and supplies and of decreased return from un- 
favourable crops, also one-half the risk from ac- 
cident or death to farm animals other than teams. 

Let us see how the problem works out in case 
of diminished returns or increased expenses. 
Suppose that, owing to drought cutting down the 



OWNERSHIP OR RENTAL 53 

milk flow and price of stock, or other un- 
favourable conditions, the returns fall to $1,200, 
instead of $1,650. In case of ownership the 
loss is $300. In case of money rental here and 
in all other cases it is approximately the same, 
depending upon whether the rental is more or 
less than the interest, depreciation, taxes, etc., 
as outlined above. In case of share rental the 
tenant receives a return of $600 against an outlay 
of $925, leaving a loss of $325, even greater than 
in the case of ownership or money rental. 

If the returns advance to $2,000, the gain incase 
of ownership is $500, in case of share rental $75. 

Now suppose the returns remain at $1,650, 
but the expenses increase to $1,800. These 
may occur in increased cost of feed, seed, sup- 
plies, incidentals, or labour. In the first three 
items they are shared by the owner, in the others 
they are borne by the tenant alone. Assuming 
that $200 of this increase comes in the first class 
and $100 in the second, there is to be added to the 
tenant's share of the expenses $200, making the 
total amount $1,125. Under these conditions, 
therefore, the loss in case of ownership would be 
$150, in case of share rental $300. 

If expenses are reduced to $1,200 the gain in 
case of ownership would be $450. Assuming 
that it were possible to reduce the items of seed, 
feed and supplies $200 and the items of labour 
and incidentals $100, the tenant's share of 



54 FARM MANAGEMENT 

expense would fall to $725 and his gain would 
therefore be $100. 

From this analysis it appears that the item of 
risk is commonly overestimated. 

No special importance is to be placed upon 
the particular estimates upon the different items 
here given, though it is believed that they fairly 
represent average conditions in the middle 
states for the type of farm in mind. The point 
of emphasis is the fact that these various items 
can and should be ascertained for the conditions 
at hand and should be worked out in the manner 
indicated, subject to variation which may re- 
sult from differing terms of proposed contract. 
In many cases the item of fertilisers would be an 
important one. It does not appear here because 
on dairy farms its use is not common and with 
well-managed rotations may not be necessary. 

In the matter of reaping benefit from improved 
conditions and increased fertility the advantage 
lies clearly with ownership. As against this it 
may be said that it is not easy to make a wise 
selection of a farm. A young man may well 
therefore forego some little advantage for a time 
until he learns conditions and factors influencing 
the choice. It is easy to rectify a mistake in 
choosing a rented farm; it may be difficult to 
rectify a mistake in purchasing. There are 
manifest advantages in a lease which permits 
purchase at a fixed price within a given time. 




X 'o 

U 5- 



'. a 



OWNERSHIP OR RENTAL 55 

Despite the fact of the apparent disadvantage 
under which the tenant works who takes a place 
on shares, this plan has afforded a means by which 
many a man has secured the benefits of a good 
home, supported his family in comfort, and 
paved the way for owning a farm of his own. He 
is sure of some return for his labour and that of 
his family, with the chance of considerable 
additional profit on the farming operations. It 
is customary for him to be allowed a generous 
use of the products of the farm in supplying his 
own table, and oftentimes the dwelling which the 
farm provides is far superior to any which his 
labour would enable him to provide under other 
conditions. His expenses are far less than those 
of the labouring man in city or village. The 
amount of capital which he is called upon to 
invest is small, and the plan affords an easy road 
for the man of small means to follow in becoming 
an independent operator. A definite instance 
comes to mind where a man within a compara- 
tively few years saved enough by working one 
farm on shares to pay for one of his own. Care- 
ful study and analysis of his business may show 
such a man, however, that the plan is one better 
adapted to use as a means to some other end 
than to long adherence. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE CHOICE OF A FARM 

UPON the wise choice of a farm much de- 
pends. The young man who is deciding 
upon the purchase of one can scarcely 
give the matter too much thought. One great 
advantage of farming as a business is that it 
enables the farmer to develop a home more 
completely than most other men can. As the 
years go by, and improvements and embellish- 
ments are added, the associations which cluster 
about the farm home should be among its most 
highly prized features. Particularly is this true 
if the owner takes pains to provide an abundance 
of fruit and flowers and ornamental plants. 
These are things which take time to produce. 
They cannot be commanded at will. 

The two primary questions to be considered in 
making the choice are — location and the charac- 
ter of the farm itself. 

LOCATION 

Surroundings. — Under the general head of 
location, several items are to be considered, first 
of which may be mentioned the surroundings. 
Among these, mail facilities may well rank first. 

56 



THE CHOICE OF A FARM 51 

The advent of rural free delivery is rendering 
this a question of much less importance than 
formerly, but there are still many farms without 
free delivery, or unfavourably located for the 
best service. At times this is of the utmost im- 
portance, the advantage of which may not be 
appreciated until experience has shown its 
need. 

Railway or trolley facilities are of almost 
equal importance. While the farmer and his 
family are home-staying people, yet they, like 
others, make frequent use, directly or indirectly, 
of means of transportation. This is of even 
greater importance in the matter of freight than 
of passenger service. When trolley roads are 
permitted to handle freight in all states, as they 
should be — an end toward which every farmer 
should insist upon making his vote count — trolley 
service may be of equal or greater value than 
railway service. The farm which can deliver 
to a common carrier, at its door, the products 
which it has to offer, and can in turn receive 
those which it needs to purchase, possesses a 
decided economic advantage. 

Church facilities are also to be considered in 
making a choice. Unfortunately the rural church 
has, in many localities, a hard struggle. Too 
often it is decadent or dead. Whether the farmer 
be a church member or not, he cannot afford to 
spend his days and bnng up his children in a 



58 FARM MANAGEMENT 

community which does not feel the influence of 
church Hfe. 

School facilities are of the greatest importance 
to every family with children. Even the farmer 
without children should not disregard them. 
An educated community affords many induce- 
ments which opposite conditions do not. The 
consolidation of rural schools is doing much 
to better rural facilities, but the farm so located 
that its children must, each day, endure a long 
ride to and from school in all kinds of weather, 
is at a manifest disadvantage when compared 
with one in close proximity to good schools. 

The rural telephone is rapidly extending its 
lines throughout farming communities. Per- 
haps no community will long be without it, but 
many farms are so isolated that the expense of a 
'phone would be much greater than the average. 
The character of the line which connects the 
farm is of decided importance. Many of the 
mutual companies furnish admirable local ser- 
vice at very small cost. Most of these com- 
panies extend their lines rapidly, join with 
neighbouring lines, and so furnish ready con- 
nection over a wide range of territory. 

The availability of medical attendance ought 
also to be thought of. Many farms are so situ- 
ated that it is impossible to bring a physician to 
them quickly, even with the aid of the telephone 
to call him. While under average conditions 




H o 





V 


TXT— 


* 


A • 




.* -^ 


,>;> 


'P-- 






?S; 






>. 




' isl' 




i 


^jp% 


'•i>w^^' 


. .»,<■ 


/'S-**'' 


■"J^P 


si^^'i'-'-'" ■ 




«<v:-. ■ ; 


Wy ' 


....•:»■- '• 


di-.r« 


r '^2t: 


; v»i>:-»! ■■;^--;- 




'•■!'V ' 


w/ 






^ai 






THE CHOICE OF A FARM 59 

this is not a serious drawback, the time may come 
when a quick response would be worth the farm 
itself. The added expense of medical attendance 
in a remote location is often a serious item. 

The personality of one's prospective neighbours 
ought to be weighed in making the choice. Are 
most of the farms in the vicinity inhabited by 
Americans or foreigners ? If by the latter, what 
is their nationality.? \Miat are their habits and 
customs.? Would they be pleasant people with 
whom to be thrown in contact ? Are the ma- 
jority of farms occupied by owners or by tenants ? 
In the latter case it is unsafe to predict much for 
the future; not only will the associations be 
changeable, but the character and appearance 
of the places will feel the influence of the contin- 
ual shifting. Improvements will be fewer, and 
the attractiveness of the locality less. Neigh- 
bours signify much more in farm life than i)i city 
or village life. This fact should be remembered. 

Social opportunities should also be considered. 
A farmer cares little for society, as he conceives 
it to be under that name, but he can not afford 
to neglect intercourse with others. In this 
neglect lies one of the chief disadvantages of 
farm life as it is often lived. No man can sepa- 
rate himself from his fellows without becoming 
provincial, and growing narrow. What oppor- 
tunity does the proposed location afford for 
hearing lectures, for taking part in things which 



60 FARM MANAGEMENT 

have to do with general progress and up- 
building? Are there Hbrary facilities within 
reach ? While the farmer may find time for but 
little use of a public library, it may often serve 
him a good turn, when in need of information, if 
well managed. It may serve him a better one in 
affording his children an opportunity for growth 
and development. Proximity to a live grange may 
add much to the advantages of a given location. 

The mere friendly intercourse of the farmer 
and his family with those about him ought to 
be remembered. He needs this relief and 
recreation. He ought, if possible, to choose his 
farm where the community standards are such 
as he would like. The presence of a good 
institution of learning has a wonderful effect upon 
the standards of the community, when that 
institution has existed for a period of years. 
Such a community has many advantages over 
one which is isolated from educational influences. 

Market Facilities. — In dealing with surround- 
ings, we have considered the farm chiefly as a 
home. From the business standpoint, location 
is of equal importance. First to be considered is 
the question of market facilities. Under this 
head various items are to be remembered. The 
character of the market itself will vary greatly, 
according to the character of the consumers. 
The man in search of a farm should endeavour 
to determine whether the market will be good 



THE CHOICE OF A FARM 61 

for the kind of product which he wishes to 
grow. A manufacturing community may afford 
an excellent market for large quantities of pro- 
duce, but it may be more particular about price 
than about quality. If he wishes to grow 
ordinary produce in large quantities, such a 
community will offer him a good field. A 
community in which wealth exists may offer a 
more limited market and be much more ex- 
acting in its demands, but may be willing to 
pay a better price. Let the farmer consider 
which community harmonises best with his 
tastes, provided there be a choice of farms sub- 
ject to the two conditions. 

Distance from market must always be 
regarded. Near proximity may be over-balanced 
by disadvantages, but in itself is of great value. 
The cost of marketing produce five miles away, 
as compared with marketing when one mile 
away, will add a decided percentage to the ex- 
pense account of the farm. Whether a retail 
home market or a wholesale market is pre- 
ferred may in itself be suflScient to determine 
the choice in many cases. If the former is 
desired, proximity to the consumer is absolutely 
essential; if the latter, much more freedom of 
choice is permissible. In this case, distance 
from the shipping point becomes of greater im- 
portance than does the actual distance from the 
market itself. 



62 FARM MANAGEMENT 

Transportation facilities should be carefully 
considered, if a distant market is to be reached. 
With the modern fashion of mergers and com- 
bines at its height, it seems useless to hope for 
competition to aid in this problem, but in ex- 
ceptional cases it may. Length of haul and 
facilities for handling, may, however, vary 
greatly. Refrigerator car service is of great 
importance in many lines of production. 

The character of the highways should receive 
careful consideration. This is not only of im« 
portance with reference to marketing facilities, 
but with reference to the social advantages of 
the farm as well. Good roads may add to the 
tax which the farm must bear, but they will far 
more than repay that tax in lessened expense of 
marketing, and hauling supplies. The influence 
of these factors will be discussed more in detail 
under the head of " Marketing Problems." 

CHARACTER OF THE FARM 

Nature oj the Land. — The nature of the land 
itself is the all important factor so far, as the 
productive value of the farm is concerned. 
Favourable location cannot compensate for poor 
soil. The two should go together if possible to 
find them. The kind of soil may vary with the 
character of farming which the purchaser has in 
mind. To go into the merits of different types 



THE CHOICE OF A FARM 63 

of soil is outside the scope of the present dis- 
cussion. Suffice it to say, that while a heavy, 
wet clay may yield admirable returns on a hay 
farm, it would be next to valueless for market- 
gardening purposes. One should weigh care- 
fully the adaptability of different soils to different 
ends, then choose the one best adapted to the 
line of production which he wishes to follow, 
unless he is willing to adapt his production to the 
soil which he gets. 

Fertility should receive more weight than it 
commonly does. Building up a run-down farm 
is a slow process, and adds much to the ultimate 
cost of the place. Other things being equal, it 
will generally prove a better investment to buy 
fertile land at a high price rather than depleted 
soil at a less figure, though in some lines of pro- 
duction, so called worn-out soils will give com- 
paratively better returns than in others. Under 
most circumstances it is safe to assume that it will 
cost more to put poor land into condition, than it 
will to pay the extra price demanded for good 
land. 

The surface contour should also be care- 
fully considered, with reference to the line 
of farming it is proposed to undertake. For 
fruit farming, high lands, with good soil- 
and air-drainage are to be preferred, while 
they are likely to be quite unsuited to market- 
gardening purposes. Hillsides are decidedly 



64 FARM MANAGEMENT 

objectionable in the production of some 
crops, while in others, if not too steep, they 
offer but little disadvantage. It will aid the 
purchaser greatly if he can have a definite idea 
of what he wants to do before he begins to look 
for a farm. 

Drainage should also receive attention. While 
good crops of grass may be grown upon heavy, 
undrained soil, such land is wholly unsuited to 
most lines of production. If land must be 
drained to bring it into profitable condition, the 
cost of drainage should be added to the purchase 
price, for comparison with that of the farm which 
is already drained. 

Proportion of Waste Land. — The proportion of 
waste land which a farm contains seldom re- 
ceives due consideration in making a choice. 
One should remember that waste land does 
more than to discount the price paid. It is 
always a dead weight upon the undertaking. 
There is not only the interest charge upon its 
cost, but yearly items for taxes and fencing. 
Unless it can be turned to some use which will 
yield a small return, such as pasturage or forest 
growth, it will remain a steady burden upon the 
success of the business. The purchaser ought 
not to be deceived by the mere number of 
acres. A farm of eighty acres all tillable 
is much better than one of 100 acres, with 
80 acres tillable, provided the other twenty 




iM. A FARM WHERE THE SURFACE CONTOUR IS BAD 




25. WHERE SURFACE CONTOUR IS GOOD 



p~ 




THE CHOICE OF A FARM 65 

acres can be turned to no profitable use. Un- 
der such conditions, the first farm at $50 
per acre is a better investment than the 
second one at $40 per acre, for while the 
first cost is the same, and the number of tillable 
acres the same, there is this added burden in the 
maintenance of twenty useless acres which the 
second farm must bear without rendering an 
equivalent. 

Buildings, — It seems to be a common rule in 
the sale of farm property, that improved buildings 
do not increase the selling price in proportion 
to their cost. This apparent loss in build- 
ings might be less noticeable, if fair allowance 
were made for depreciation, but even then, if 
suitable buildings can be purchased with the 
farm, they can nearly always be obtained at less 
cost than if built by the purchaser. This fact 
should be carefully considered, for it must be 
remembered that in buying a farm without good 
buildings it may be but half paid for when the 
purchasing price is satisfied. This fact must not 
be allowed to blind one to the careful consider- 
ation of the adaptability of the buildings which 
exist, to the purpose in mind. The first cost may 
have been too great; they may have been poorly 
planned, or too much expense may have been 
devoted to mere ornamental features. Or again, 
they may have been planned for a different line 
of farming than the purchaser anticipates. In 



66 FARM MANAGEMENT 

either case, while he may be obtaining them at a 
low price, they may yet prove to be a poor 
investment. Too much study can scarcely be 
given to the planning of buildings for economy 
of labour and maximum efficiency. 

Water Supply. — ^An adequate water supply is 
of paramount importance. Some farms are 
always handicapped in this matter. An occa- 
sional location is found where it is impossible to 
get water at any reasonable depth. If then 
there is no spring so situated that it can be 
brought to the buildings with reasonable ex- 
pense the difficulty becomes very serious. An 
abundance of pure fresh water, both for the 
household and for stock, is absolutely essen- 
tial. The cost of taking stock even a few 
rods to water amounts to a great deal in the 
course of years. 

Woodland. — Good woodland should never 
be considered as synonymous with waste land, 
for while the annual yield from woodland can 
never be high, it is sure, and the expense is little. 
Oftentimes the yield from the farm woodland 
means more than its actual market value. Many 
a time it will serve to quickly replace a broken 
part, or afford material for some special need, 
the expense of obtaining which, elsewhere, might 
be greater than the cost of the material itself. A 
supply of fuel for home use, and of lumber for 
repairs and building purposes, is an item of 



THE CHOICE OF A FARM 67 

decided moment in the business enterprise. If 
the woodland is at all extensive, it also affords 
one of the best means of equalising the labour 
employed throughout the year. The return 
obtained from labour thus used may not be large, 
but it should at least be sufficient to continue the 
labour without loss, and afford a better oppor- 
tunity for employing it at a profit during other 
seasons of the year. 

Orchards. — Bearing orchards seldom bring 
their real value when sold. To produce a good 
orchard takes time, and the farm which carries 
one of good size carries with it a possibility of 
immediate money returns, which is worthy of 
careful consideration. Instances have often oc- 
curred where a good orchard has yielded suffi- 
cient return to pay for the farm upon which it 
stood. If the purchaser means to include fruit 
in his line of production, he will do well to con- 
sider carefully whatever orchards have reached 
bearing age. Even trees which have passed 
their best stage may be given a new lease of 
life and yield good returns by thoroughgoing 
methods. 

Fences. — The cost of fencing is a serious bur- 
den upon almost any farm, but it differs greatly 
with conditions. While poor fences would sel- 
dom be sufficient in themselves to cause one to 
refuse a farm, it should be remembered that they 
will add materially to the cost of it. Then too. 



68 FARM MANAGEMENT 

the amount of fencing which the farm demands 
may make a decided difference in the annual ex- 
pense account of the place. A farm so situated 
that a large amount of road fence must be 
maintained, or with pasture land inconvenient to 
enclose, may demand many rods, or even miles, 
more fencing than one more favourably situated. 
If in addition to this the farm itself will afford no 
material, the disadvantage is still greater. 

Attractiveness of Location. — While placed last 
in the list, the attractiveness of the place itself 
should not receive less attention. As before sta- 
ted, the farmer should remember that he is purchas- 
ing a home as well as a business. In this, the 
occupation differs from that of most other men. 
The manufacturer can afford to spend his days 
in an unsightly location if it is better adapted to 
business purposes, because he leaves it when 
the hours of rest and recreation come. The 
farmer may well afford to incur some possible 
business disadvantage if thereby he may obtain 
a more delightful home. Life should mean more 
than digging for dollars. That too often it does 
not, is witnessed by the number of farm homes 
which stand amid unattractive surroundings. 
Often there is no outlook from the dwelling, when 
on the same farm, with equal convenience to the 
business in hand, by a different location, it might 
command a charming view. I recall one such in- 
stance in which by changing the location of the 



THE CHOICE OF A FARM 69 

house only a few rods, a view of one of the most 
beautiful valleys in the region, covering a dis- 
tance of ten miles or more, might have been had. 
In its present location this view is wholly shut 
off.* 



* Professor Thomas F. Hunt's book, "HowtoChooseaFarm," which appeared 
after the foregoing chapter was written, discusses this problem ^vith great 
thoroughness. 



CHAPTER VII 

SYSTEMS OF FARMING 

A T THIS point it may be well to consider 
what may be called the rotation balance 
of the farm. The term is used to include 
the problems relating to the proper ad- 
justment of crops to the area under cultivation. 
Several considerations need to be borne in mind 
in determining upon this adjustment. 

First and most important is that of the type of 
farming chosen. The comparative merits of 
extensive and intensive farming, and of different 
types of production are discussed elsewhere, and 
need not be considered here. The farmer should 
consult himself, most of all, in deciding these 
primary and fundamental questions. Having 
settled them, he may then begin to carefully study 
the farm to determine what the proportionate 
division for each line shall be. 

The next essential is to provide for a well- 
planned rotation, which will admit of the pro- 
duction of the kind of crops desired and which 
will at the same time maintain the humus 
supply and fertility of the land. For general 
farming a judicious rotation is a paramount 
necessity. Special types of intensive farming 

70 



SYSTEMS OF FARMING 71 

may hope to maintain fertility without it, but 
general farming cannot. 

A plan of farming may provide a good rotation 
and yet fail in other essentials. One of these 
is that it shall adequately provide for the farm 
consumption. It should provide sufficient hay, 
silage and corn to supply the stock of the farm 
without an undue excess of any one of them, 
unless it be hay for market, if it should be de- 
sired to make that one of the direct money crops. 
It must also provide for a proportionate supply 
of summer and winter feed. If the amount of 
pasture is too small, soiling crops must be pro- 
vided to supplement it. If the pasture range is 
large from necessity, every effort should be made 
to make the supply of winter feed balance it so 
that all the pasture may be utilized. If it seems 
the best policy to depend upon farm-grown grains, 
care is demanded to make the production of these 
correspond. On a dairy farm with skim milk as 
a by-product, proper provision should be made 
for its consumption by pigs, calves or poultry. 
In short a careful adjustment of cog to cog so 
that the whole farm machinery may run smoothly 
and without waste or friction is of as much im- 
portance in a farm business as in any other. 

A third essential is such a farm balance as 
will distribute the labour of the season so that 
it can be performed as nearly as possible with 
a uniform force. The chief disadvantage of a 



72 FARM MANAGEMENT 

pure hay farm is that it calls for a large amount 
of labour at certain times of short duration, with 
little at other times. It is always more diflScult, 
and proportionately more expensive, to secure 
an excess of labour for short periods than to 
secure regular labour throughout the year. 

A fourth essential is that the balance be so 
adjusted that it shall provide for an approxi- 
mately uniform money return each year. Cer- 
tain money crops or products should form a 
regular part of the plan and should occur 
in approximately the same proportion each 
year. If potatoes enter the rotation there should 
be provision for approximately the same number 
of acres year by year, the same being true of 
corn, clover, or other crops for home consump- 
tion. It is desirable that these returns should 
come in at different periods throughout the 
year. A money crop which can be marketed 
at a season when other things may be returning 
but little is always a welcome addition. So, 
too, the money value per acre may be an im- 
portant consideration. Even though one crop 
may yield as good a percentage of profit over 
cost as another, it may not be well adapted to 
the particular conditions because the profit 
per acre is too small for the number of acres 
available. A crop may need to be chosen which 
will utilise more labour and yield more return 
upon a given area. 



SYSTEMS OF FARMING 73 

SPECIAL VS. MIXED FARMING 

One of the most important questions for the 
farmer to settle is that of the type of farming in 
which he is to engage. Many things must be 
considered if the choice is to be a wise one. 
Among these are, first of all, his own tastes, then 
such things as adaptabihty of soil and climate, 
market facilities, availability of help, amount of 
capital to be invested, etc. 

In discussing special vs. mixed farming it is 
necessary at the outset to define the terms. In 
their extreme forms special farming would 
mean the growing of one crop and mixed farm- 
ing the production of a very large number of 
products. In the better types of each they 
approach each other and there is no sharp line 
of division. The best special farming does not 
limit itself to one crop and the best mixed 
farming does not attempt to grow everything. 
In comparing the two, therefore, it is really a 
consideration of the advantages of a few well- 
chosen lines as compared with a larger number 
of products.* 

Mixed Farming, — As in nearly all such ques- 
tions, not all the advantages lie on one side. 
Among the points in which mixed farming has 
the advantage may be named the following. 

1 . Fertility is more easily maintained in mixed 

*For an admirable discussion of this problem the reader is referred to chap- 
ters 4, 5. and 6 of Terry's "Our Farming." 



74 FARM MANAGEMENT 

farming than in most types of special farming. 
This is not true if the specialty is dairying. It 
is emphatically true if the specialty is hay. If 
the specialty is chosen with a view to a well- 
managed rotation this disadvantage is in part 
offset. 

2. Mixed farming affords many sources of 
income. The chances for return are distri- 
buted throughout the year and there is always 
something coming in with which to meet 
expenses. 

3. Failure of one source of income, or low 
prices for the product, are less important. 
Some crop is likely to be unsatisfactory in yield 
or in price nearly every year. What is more 
important, some are likely to succeed every 
year, and there is little chance of an entire 
failure. 

4. Mixed farming may demand less skill. 
Even a novice is likely to succeed with something, 
and since failure of part is less important than 
failure of all, he may do better on the whole than 
with specialties. For the same reason, it may 
be added that mixed farming offers the best 
chance for the shiftless farmer. Something 
may succeed even if allowed to care for itself. 

5. It is easier to employ a uniform amount of 
labour throughout the year. At the present 
time, if not always, the labour problem is one 
of the most diflScult of solution. The man who 



SYSTEMS OF FARMING 75 

can furnish steady employment is most likely 
to get and to keep good workmen; upon doing 
this much of his success will depend. 

6. There is an economic advantage in the 
correlation of different lines. Swine afford an 
opportunity to utilise the by-products of the 
dairy; fruit affords shade for the poultry, and 
live stock offers a home market for the forage. 

The Budlong farm at Auburn, R. I., affords 
an interesting illustration of the working out of 
this principle. The business was originally 
established as a market garden. In connection 
with that cucumbers became a prominent feat- 
ure. To better utilise them the manufacture of 
pickles followed. This created a large demand 
for vinegar, which resulted in the building of a 
vinegar factory. To utilise the refuse grain 
used in the manufacture of vinegar, steers were 
fed.* Hogs are also kept, which consume 
refuse garden products. Large greenhouses for- 
merly used for lettuce and cucumbers under 
glass, now more largely for roses and carnations, 
find a place in the circle of business interests. 

It is interesting to consider the development 
of modern commercial lines in this connection. 
As villages grew to towns and towns grew to 
cities, the typical country store, where could be 
found anything from candy to hardware. 



* More recently molasses has offered a cheaper material for vinegar than grain 
so that the steers have disappeared. 



76 FARM MANAGEMENT 

gradually gave place to special stores which 
carried a single line. Latterly, however, the 
old-time country store has reappeared in the 
form of the great department store, which, like 
its predecessor, carries under one roof anything 
from a silk collar to an automobile. It is 
significant, too, that this type of store often 
forces the special store to the wall. 

Sjyecial Farming. — Among the points in which 
special farming has the advantage are the 
following : 

1. Economy of capital. The man who at- 
tempts to carry on many lines of work must 
equip himself for each one. This means an 
increased outlay for implements and perhaps 
for buildings, types of property in which the 
expenses of depreciation and cost of usage are 
likely to be heavy. 

2. Economy of labour. Since each line de- 
mands equipment the general farmer will find 
that he cannot afford the best for every line. He 
cannot afford to own a potato planter and digger 
for two acres of potatoes, nor a corn harvester 
for five acres of corn. His work must therefore 
be done at a disadvantage. The man who 
makes a specialty of potatoes or corn and grows 
enough to warrant the outlay for a complete 
equipment can produce the crop more cheaply 
as a result. 

3. Special farming affords better opportun- 



SYSTEMS OF FARMING 77 

ities for marketing, Modern business is done on 
a large scale. The man with a few bushels of 
potatoes or a few pounds of butter receives little 
attention. He must take what he can get for 
an odd lot or hunt for chance customers in private 
trade. If he has a carload to offer, railroads are 
ready to make him a rate and buyers are ready 
to make him a price. Furthermore, it is only 
the man who adheres to some specialty year after 
year whose product becomes known and who 
is therefore able to command a special market. 

4. Specialties lead to greater skill in their 
production. The man whose income depends 
on two or three things only cannot afford to let 
these fail. He studies them; he learns their 
needs, and is ready to give prompt battle to any 
enemy which threatens. He becomes skilful 
in their care and he reaps better harvests. 

5. Things are less likely to be neglected. 
With many crops, different ones are sure to 
demand attention at the same time; some are 
neglected and suffer. With special crops this 
is less likely to occur, both from having fewer 
irons in the fire, and from greater skill in know- 
ing when to bring them to the anvil. 

6. The labour may be less confining. The 
farmer ought to have some time for recreation 
and study, some opportunity to get away from 
home. If specialties offer some difficulty in 
the regular employment of labour, which is not 



78 FARM MANAGEMENT 

true in all cases, they may offer the counter 
advantage of more freedom to the farmer and 
his family. 

All in all, the arguments for a well chosen line 
of specialites far outweigh those for a mis- 
cellaneous line of mixed farming. Yet farming 
cannot be done by ironclad rules. Circum- 
stances may often arise under which a crop out 
of the ordinary may well be used to meet the 
peculiar needs of the case. The specialties 
chosen should be such as to admit of a rotation 
which will maintain a good physical condition 
of the soil and distribute the labour to the best 
advantage. In succeeding pages different types 
will be considered more in detail. 

Specialties often appeal to the inexperienced 
with undue force. The belief that money is 
to be had from ginseng or goats may blind the 
novice to the fact that as good or better returns 
miay be obtained from cabbage or cows. 

EXTENSIVE vs. INTENSIVE FARMING 

The choice between extensive and intensive 
farming, aside from the question of personal 
tastes, is largely a problem of the adjustment of 
capital and of the relation between capital and 
labour. Extensive farming demands relatively 
more capital, intensive farming relatively more 
labour. Extensive operations therefore involve a 



SYSTEMS OF FARMING 79 

heavier interest charge for fixed capital. One 
thousand acres of grazing land at ten dollars per 
acre calls for an investment of $10,000; fifty 
acres of fertile farming land at one hundred 
dollars per acre demands but $5,000. Within 
reasonable bounds returns will follow more nearly 
the line of labour investments than those of capi- 
tal. This may be illustrated by the comparison 
of cost and returns from a few typical crops. 

Estimating the yield of wheat per acre at 
twenty bushels, and the price at seventy-five 
cents per bushel, there is a gross return of $15. 
To secure $1,000, gross, it is necessary to grow 
66| acres. If this land is worth $40 per acre, there 
is a fixed capital investment of $2,666.67, the 
interest charge upon which at 5% is $133.33. 
The labour involved in growing, harvesting and 
threshing, under average farm conditions in 
the Eastern states, will be about $6 per acre, 
or $400 on the 66^ acres needed to secure the 
$1,000 gross return. There will be forty tons 
of product to deliver to market, the cost of which 
will vary with conditions. 

Compare this with potatoes, as representing 
a fairly intensive farm crop. When grown by 
successful men who make it a business the yield 
will average at least 200 bushels per acre. If 
the price should average forty cents per bushel 
the gross return per acre would be $80. A return 
of $1,000 can therefore be obtained from 12 J 



80 FARM MANAGEMENT 

acres. Supposing the value of the land to be $50 
per acre there is a fixed capital investment of 
$625, the interest charge upon which at 5% is 
$31.25. The labour cost of growing will amount 
to about $20 per acre, or $250 for the 12| acres 
needed to yield $1,000 gross return. In this 
case there will be seventy-five tons of product to 
market, a serious item if the distances are long. 

Onions will represent a still more intensive 
gardeners' crop. With land in a high state of 
fertility, as gardeners expect to keep it, the 
yield should reach 500 bushels per acre. Prices 
vary greatly with location ; but taking an average 
farm price of fifty cents per bushel the returns 
will be $250 per acre, or $1,000 from four acres, 
the interest charge on land at $100 an acre being 
$20. The labour cost in this case will be high, 
approximating $100 per acre, or $400 for the 
four acres involved. There will be 50 tons of 
product to market. 

None of these estimates include other expenses 
than those of labour and fixed capital, the pur- 
pose being to emphasise chiefly the point of 
capital involved. 

The element of fertility is an important con- 
sideration. Extensive farming has too often 
been a system of soil mining, with little regard 
to the maintenance of fertility. The estimates 
for wheat above are made partially on that 
basis. With liberal fertilising the yield per 



SYSTEMS OF FARMING 81 

acre there given can be much increased. When 
it comes to this problem, it will readily be seen 
that intensive farming has a manifest advantage. 
The cost of fertilising 12| acres for potatoes or 
4 acres for onions sufficiently to produce a 
maximum yield will be much less than the cost 
of fertilising 50 or 60 acres for wheat, even 
moderately. 

Under average conditions intensive methods 
will be found to possess important economic 
advantages, but they demand closer attention 
and more intelligent oversight. For the man 
who can better afford to invest capital than to 
give such attention, extensive methods may 
prove best. Certain types of farming are, from 
the very nature of the case, bound to be ex- 
tensive, at least for many years to come. The 
details of the problem will appear more fully 
in the comparison of different types in later 
pages. 

In many cases the value of land will prove to 
be the determining factor. It is manifestly 
impossible to grow wheat at a profit on land 
valued at $500 per acre, for the interest charge 
and higher rate of taxation likely to prevail will 
more than offset any possible profit, even by the 
best of methods. 

At this point it may be well to emphasise the 
difference between intensive and extensive meth- 
ods with the same crops and under the same 



82 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



system of farming. Intensive farming does not 
lie wholly in the number of acres tilled. Let 
figures from the hay crop serve as an illustration. 
The average yield per acre of hay in the state 
of New York for the last ten years is a fraction 
less than IJ tons. By better methods and 
a liberal outlay for fertilisers it is easily possible 
to bring this yield up to three or even four tons 
per acre. The average farm price for hay in 
the same state for the same time is $10.63. The 
account per acre by the two methods would 
stand about as follows: 





Extensive 
Method 


Intensive 
Method 


Interest and taxes .... 
Seed . • 2 i proportionate ) 
Preparation 2 ( share per year ) 

Fertilisers 

Mowing and raking .... 
Hauling 


$ 3.00 
2.00 

.50 
1.00 


$ 3.00 

I] *'^ 

15.00 

.50 

4.00 


Total cost per year 
Value of product 

@ $10.63 per ton . . . . 


$ 6.50 

i/atonslLOe 


$26.50 

4 tons 42.52 


Profit . . . 


$ 5.46 


$16.02 



Lest some one may think an estimate of four 
tons per acre too large it may be said that the 
average yield per acre on the grounds of the 
Rhode Island Experiment Station considerably 
exceeds this amount wherever good rotations 
and liberal fertilising are employed. This is 
on land from which on either side the yields 



SYSTEMS OF FARMING 83 

scarcely reach half a ton, and on which corn will 
not grow over five inches high during the whole 
season, where the land has been continuously 
cropped without the addition of fertiliser. 

If applied to Rhode Island conditions, where 
the average farm price of hay during the same 
ten years has been $17.08 instead of $10.63 as 
in New York, the contrast between the two 
methods is even more striking, for the difference 
in profit between the two methods then becomes 
$29.11 instead of $10.56, as here figured. It 
should be said that in the Rhode Island ex- 
periments the cost of fertilisers has somewhat 
exceeded $15 per acre, but it has been learned 
that even here some of the items can be reduced 
and farmers who have tried the formulas in 
other parts of the state report that a smaller 
amount would probably prove more profitable. 
Outside of New England the amount may not 
need to reach $15. The general impression 
prevails that such liberal fertilising will only 
prove profitable for the hay crop where prices 
range high, as near the city markets, but an 
analysis of the problem shows that the method 
will apply much farther than might be sup- 
posed. 

Similar comparisons with the potato crop may 
be of interest. The average yield per acre in 
the state of New York for the ten years from 
1893 to 1902 inclusive was 80.6 bushels, and 



84 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



the average farm price, December 1, was forty- 
eight cents. 

In the following table the ordinary methods 
in vogue, which produce this average yield, 
are compared with condensed figures which 
follow very closely those given by T. B. Terry 
and J. S. Woodward, men who expect and get 
an average of at least 200 bushels per acre. The 
cost of seed is placed higher than they place it 
in order to permit the purchase of seed from 
seed-growing sections, a practice which, while 
often desirable, is not always necessary, as these 
men prove, provided the grower knows how to 
handle and care for his own seed properly. 



POTATOES 





Extensive 
Method 


Intensive Method 


Interest and taxes 
Seed, 8 bu. @ 50 c. or $1 
Plowing .... 
Fitting .... 
Fertiliser, J ton 
Cutting and planting 
Tillasre 






$3.00 

4.00 

1.50 

.50 

3.00 

2.00 

.50 

5.00 


$ 3.00 
8.00 
1.50 
1.50 
15.00 
3.00 
5.00 


Applying Paris green 
Spraying for bugs and bl 
Digging and picking up 


ght 


2.00 
6.00 


Total, 
Value of product @ 48 cents 
(80.6 bu.) 


$19.50 
$38.65 


$45.00 
(200 bu.) 96.00 


Profi 


t 




$19.15 


$51.00 



Rhode Island farmers in the potato growing 
sections commonly apply at least one ton of 



SYSTEMS OF FARMING 85 

fertiliser per acre, but their average farm price for 
the same time has been seventy cents per bushel, 
so that their profits from intensive methods are 
still greater. One successful Rhode Island 
grower reports the cost at $50 per acre when 
grown and in the cellar, and that their average 
yield is more than 200 bushels. 

It should be observed that a large proportion 
of the charges are practically fixed, whether the 
method be good or poor, and that aside from the 
item of fertilisers the additional cost of intensive 
methods is comparatively small. The fertiliser 
question itself is one demanding much study. 
In many cases it can be much reduced by careful 
attention to other methods of maintaining 
fertility. 

SYNDICATE FARMING 

Many believe that syndicate farming is to be 
one of the features of the future. Will agricul- 
ture tend toward concentration, as all other 
industries seem to be doing .^ It is probably 
wiser not to attempt to answer this question, 
but to content ourselves with considering some 
of the factors which are likely to work for and 
against this tendency. 

FAVOURABLE FACTORS 

1 . Full Equipment Warranted. — Many farmers 
work at a great disadvantage from lack of equip- 
ment. Indeed this is such a common occurrence 



86 FARM MANAGEMENT 

that at times it seems a well-nigh universal rule. 
A young man starts out with limited capital. 
He may rent a farm for a time, then perhaps 
buy one of his own, running in debt for the 
greater part of the purchase price. All the 
returns are needed to meet payments and keep 
up interest. Every tool which it is possible to do 
without is dispensed with. Under these con- 
ditions products are grown and handled at a 
marked disadvantage, and cost too much. Syn- 
dicate farming overcomes all this. Enough 
capital can be put in to properly equip the enter- 
prise at the start and capital can be added as 
the business progresses. In so far, the syndicate 
farm can produce more cheaply, hence at a 
greater profit, than the individual farm under 
these conditions. 

2. Full Use of Equipment Possible. — When the 
individual farmer is able to have all the equip- 
ment needed in carrying on his work the extent 
of his business oftentimes does not permit of a 
full use of the equipment. For this reason he 
may be working at as great an economic disad- 
vantage as does the poor man who must do with- 
out the equipment. The proportion of fixed 
charges which he pays is too great. The farmer 
who owns a one-hundred-dollar corn harvester 
for harvesting five acres of corn annually, may 
do the actual work as cheaply as his neighbour 
who harvests more, but when he has added the 



SYSTEMS OF FARMING 87 

charges for interest, depreciation and storage, 
from which he cannot escape, he will find the 
cost greater than that of the man who must 
harvest his corn by hand. In many cases the 
latter may be able to hire the services of the 
machine from his more prosperous neighbour, 
with manifest advantage to both parties. Syn- 
dicate farming should do away with this diffi- 
culty. The syndicate farm should not only be 
able to have equipment enough to do the work 
but also to have work enough to properly em- 
ploy the equipment. The cost of production, 
so far as regards this item, should therefore be 
brought to the minimum. 

3. Opportunity for Skilled Oversight. — A small 
farm will not warrant the payment of an adequate 
salary to a superior manager. The owner does 
not escape this fact even though he manage 
the farm himself. If he is a man capable of 
successfully conducting a larger enterprise he is 
not receiving what his services are worth in con- 
ducting a smaller one. If managed as a business 
investment, without employing his own services, 
the owner cannot afford to employ an expensive 
man for a small undertaking. With the larger 
undertaking there is abundant opportunity for 
the well-trained man to make his training count, 
to earn his own salary, and to return a margin 
to his employer. 

4. Advantages in Marketing. — Much has been 



88 FARM MANAGEMENT 

said about the advantages to be gained from 
marketing products in large quantities. The 
syndicate farm has manifestly the superior oppor- 
tunity in this respect, particularly if the under- 
taking is centred upon a few specialties. 

UNFAVOURABLE FACTORS 

1. Loss of Time in Working Large Areas. — 
The first and perhaps the most important diffi- 
culty in syndicate farming lies in the inherent 
difference in nature between agriculture and 
other industries. In manufacturing enterprises 
it is possible to concentrate an immense business 
within a small area. Every operation can be 
quickly inspected by the superintendent and no 
time need be lost in the passage of material or 
workmen from one operation to another. In 
agriculture the limit of concentration is quickly 
reached. Increased production means increased 
areas. This, except in a few special lines, means 
loss of time in movement from place to place. 
Each mile that a workman must travel upon his 
employer's time in getting to and from his actual 
place of work means a reduction of approx- 
imately 3 per cent, in the efficiency ot his day's 
work. This soon places a limit upon the spread- 
ing out of operations from a single plant. In- 
crease must be by means of separate centres from 
which operations proceed, and which introduce 



SYSTEMS OF FARMING 89 

many of the same factors which appear with 
small individual farms. 

2. Difficulty of Close Oversight by Manager. — 
The same reasons which render it diflScult to 
carry on large farming operations successfully 
from a single plant prevent close oversight on 
the part of the manager. He may provide him- 
self with means of transportation which will 
consume less time than does the workman in 
going from place to place, but it is important 
that he do much more moving about than 
the latter. Not only will he lose a great deal of 
time between points, but while he is directing 
operations at one place something may be 
suffering at another. 

3. Lack of Persojial Oversight on the Part 
of the Investor. — Experience shows that farms 
not managed by their owners seldom pay. 
Exceptions occur, to be sure. A particularly 
conscientious manager of ability may present 
good returns to his employer but very many 
fail to do so. A financial interest in the under- 
taking on the part of the manager will aid, but 
even this is not always effective in producing 
good results. Careful attention to many de- 
tails is needed to make farming a success. Such 
attention can best be secured when the owner 
himself is managing the business. 

To generalise upon these factors for and 
against syndicate farming would be to prophesy. 



90 FARM MANAGEMENT 

which is always unsafe. Yet it may be safely 
predicted that the ease with which new ventures 
in farming may be begun, upon small capital, will 
long prevent any such centralisation in agri- 
culture as occurs in other lines of business. The 
most promising lines of concentration appear to 
be those in which the elements of cooperation 
or profit-sharing enter to a considerable extent. 
It is probable that the syndicate farm can be 
more successfully obtained by coordinating 
the operations of a number of individual farms 
than by combining them into one; if upon each 
of these farms there is a foreman who is finan- 
cially interested in its outcome the chance for 
success should be good. 

The Boyd farms near Harrisburg, Pa., offer 
a good illustration of a successful business 
enterprise in farming. A number of individual 
farms, aggregating 1,800 acres, are grouped 
together under one management. A farmer 
and helpers, are employed on each farm, with a 
manager to direct the whole. 




3 S 



> c* 

►J c - 
►J St; 

< - c 

I— St !« 

< J* 



— 13 



CHAPTER VIII 

FARMING COMPARED WITH OTHER LINES 
OF BUSINESS 

TIS AN illusive fancy to which men are heir, 
that the vale of delight lies always be- 
yond the next hilltop. A more delight- 
ful time is coming, when we shall have more 
leisure, more enjoyment, more happiness. In 
like manner we are prone to think other callings 
better than our own. No one is more ready to 
decry the business of farming than the farmer 
himself. He believes that men in other callings 
do less work and receive more pay than he. He 
instils into the mind of his son the teaching that 
the son must prepare himself for some calling 
in which he can get his living easier than on the 
farm. The son, as a result, is found in the liter- 
ary, the classical, or the engineering course, when 
he reaches college, instead of the agricultural 
course, only to learn, oftentimes, after college 
days are over, that the farm after all offers him 
better opportunities thali his chosen field, and 
to go back to it trained for some other work 
instead of that. 

It is not easy to make comparisons which will 
be just and which will throw light on the 

91 



92 FARM MANAGEMENT 

comparative advantages of one calling with 
another. A few points may be considered. 

THE INVESTMENT DEMANDED 

The constantly increasing scale on which 
business is done renders it each year more 
difficult for the man with limited capital 
to build up a business for himself, a business in 
which he shall be the master and not the servant. 
The small retail stores, or those which we used 
to think the large ones, have more and more 
frequently been absorbed by the big department 
store. What was an independent business in 
stationery, in wall-paper, in boots and shoes, 
becomes a department in one of the big concerns, 
and the one-time independent owner becomes 
the department manager and an employee. 
The chance to again become an independent 
dealer has passed, not to return again. The 
man with a capital of $5,000 knows well that he 
cannot establish an independent business and 
hope to compete with the large concern, even 
in a single hne. 

Farming too, calls for capital. The want of 
it is one of the most frequent causes of poor 
returns. Yet it is far easier for the man with 
a limited amount to establish an independent 
business than in mercantile or manufacturing 
lines. While he cannot reach the best market 



FARMING VS. OTHER BUSINESS 93 

or place his products on the market to the best 
advantage, if he has only a limited amount to 
offer, he can reach some market and nearly 
always one which will yield a profit above cost 
of production if the production has been well 
managed. This market, too, will generally take 
all he can produce, very different from the 
market of the merchant, whose great problem 
is to know how much he can sell. 

The man with $5,000 can become at once an 
independent business man, an employer in- 
stead of an employee, if he decides to put that 
money into agriculture. True it is that he will 
wish for more capital and will see many ways 
in which the man who has it will possess an ad- 
vantage over him, but he can enter the contest 
with perfect assurance of winning reasonable 
success, provided he possess the other re- 
quisites of success. The young man with no 
one dependent upon him may even become an 
independent operator in some lines with one- 
tenth this amount of capital. In either case, 
with every dollar of increase in the capital will 
come the opportunity to place it where the 
effectiveness of the business will be increased. 

Coupled with this opportunity to begin with 
small capital goes the opposite advantage, that 
it is possible to advantageously invest a very 
considerable amount in a single business. 
Indeed by dividing the investment and 



94 FARM MANAGEMENT 

establishing different centres of operation it is 
possible to invest almost any amount. Lack 
of opportunity to place his capital to advantage 
is not one of the farmer's troubles. 



SAFETY OF THE INVESTMENT 

The safety of the principal is of prime im- 
portance in the investment of capital. The 
president of a large banking firm, when asked 
what percentage of ventures in mercantile and 
manufacturing lines fail in so far that the capital 
put in is lost to the investor, replied that he had 
no figures, but judging from his observation it 
would be about 90 per cent, in mercantile lines, 
but much less in manufacturing, perhaps not 
over 15 per cent, though hisj first estimate was 
higher. Compared with this, agriculture makes 
a very favourable showing. I have no statistics to 
offer but I am sure that universal experience will 
bear me out in the statement that very few 
men lose the capital invested in farming, as a 
result of legitimate business effort in that 
line. Farm mortgages are foreclosed, to be 
sure, sometimes as a result of ill health or other 
unusual misfortune, but oftener as a result of 
bad management, expensive habits, outside 
ventures, or to secure capital which the investor 
never really possessed, he having assumed a 
debt nearly or quite equal to the capital involved. 



FARMING VS. OTHER BUSINESS 95 

Capital invested in a farm and its equipment 
is likely to be less readily available than in many 
other lines, but there are few ways in which it 
can be invested with less danger of ultimate 
loss. 

PROSPECT OF A CONTINUED LIVELIHOOD 

In answer to the question — What percentage 
of ventures yield a comfortable livelihood dur- 
ing the lifetime of the investor .? this same 
bank president placed the figures for mercantile 
lines at 50 per cent, and for manufacturing lines 
at 80 per cent. He qualified these by saying 
that the business was often absorbed by a larger 
firm, or failed, and the former proprietor finished 
as a clerk. Under those conditions the business 
fails to yield a livelihood in the sense in which it 
should, for his livelihood is dependent upon the 
will of others and he must face the dead line 
which all employees must face, and which is 
very likely to come early in life. 

In the absence of this dead line lies one of the 
chief advantages of farming as a business. The 
intelligent, industrious farmer need look upon the 
future with no apprehension. Except as the 
result of some unusual misfortune his support 
is secured to the end of his days. Even when 
he is no longer able to work himself his farm will 
continue to yield him the comforts of life. His 
wants are simple and natural and are supplied 



96 FARM MANAGEMENT 

at minimum cost, because obtained at the source 
instead of at the mouth of the stream of 
distribution. 

A. P. Grinnell, M.D., Dean of the Medical 
Department of The University of Vermont, is 
authority for the statement that 80 per cent, of all 
men living at the age of forty-five are prosperous, 
contented, and more or less successful in business, 
well established in whatever pursuit they are 
following; are receiving an income in excess of 
their expenditures and are, therefore, laying up 
money and are independent. He then calls 
attention to a well-established fact that of all 
men living at the age of forty-five 50 per cent 
live to be sixty-five. At that age he finds that 
only 3 per cent, of these persons are independent 
or self-sustaining. In other words about ninety- 
seven out of every 100 at the age of sixty- 
five are dependent upon relatives, friends, 
the town, or some charitable institution or 
society for a part, at least, of their daily sub- 
sistence. 

Let the farmer who is inclined to bemoan his 
lot ponder these figures. Let him sit down and 
compute the percentage of his farmer acquaint- 
ances who, at the age of sixty-five, are dependent 
upon others for sustenance. In doing so he 
should be careful not to count among the num- 
ber those who have left the farm and embarked 
in some other business. 



FARMING VS. OTHER BUSINESS 97 

FINANCIAL RETURNS 

Perhaps in no other business will returns vary- 
more widely. Many farms do not even pay- 
reasonable wages for the labour expended upon 
them. It must be granted at once that agri- 
culture offers little opportunity to amass immense 
wealth. It is not the calling for the man who 
makes that his goal in life, although present ten- 
dencies toward large aggregations of capital in 
agriculture, as in other lines, oifer better oppor- 
tunities in this field than is generally believed. 
The great advantage of agriculture lies in the 
certainty which it offers of reasonable returns, 
sufficient for the needs and comforts of a simple 
life. Few men of average ability and health 
fail to secure this much. Many are able to 
provide themselves comfortable and attractive 
homes and to possess about all the good things 
of life which it is possible for any man to enjoy. 

Not long ago lists were secured of typical, 
representative farmers engaged in different lines 
of work and located in various parts of the United 
States. Questions were sent to these men, asking 
them for a business statement regarding the 
management and returns from their farms. 
Figures were tabulated from forty-seven farms. 
Among these were some managed by firms, in- 
cluding brothers, or father and son. Taking 
these into consideration made fifty-six persons 



98 FARM MANAGEMENT 

to share in the returns which these farms yielded. 
The average salary received by these fifty-six 
persons, after deducting all running expenses, 
5 per cent, interest on the capital invested, 5 per 
cent, for depreciation and insurance on buildings, 
and 10 per cent, for depreciation on teams and 
tools, was $1,800.40. These, it must be granted, 
were picked farmers, men known to be success- 
ful men. The returns are therefore doubtless 
considerably above average returns, yet they are 
by no means exceptional. It was not always 
the largest enterprises which showed the greatest 
profits. 

With these farms it may be fair to compare the 
exceptional man in other lines. The man who 
has had the advantage of a thorough college 
training which has fitted him for a definite line 
of work must certainly rank above the average 
man in his earning ability, and may be fairly 
compared with these successful farmers. Pres- 
ident Prichett of the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology is authority for the statement, made 
about the same time these figures were gathered, 
that the average salary of the graduates of that in- 
stitution is about $650. The average salary of 
teachers in Massachusetts is given as about 
$600. 

These comparisons have to do with the 
exceptional man. In the report of the Penn- 
sylvania Department of Agriculture for 1899, 



FARMING VS, OTHER BUSINESS 99 

John Hamilton, then Secretary of Agriculture for 
Pennsylvania, makes a careful comparison be- 
tween the returns secured by the average farmer's 
family in that state and those secured by the 
average worker in other lines. He first refers 
to a substantial agreement among satisticians 
that 93% of the people in this country live 
upon incomes of less than $400 per year, which 
income must support a family of three persons. 
He finds this to agree very closely with the aver- 
age returns of the wage-earners in the manu- 
facturing industries in Pennsylvania. He then 
compares these figures with the average returns 
from Pennsylvania farms, as shown by census 
statistics. His figures lead him to the con- 
clusion that while each person in the average 
family in 93% of our homes has $133.33 per 
year upon which to live, each member of the 
average Pennsylvania farmer's family receives 
$198.26. Deducting similar living expenses in 
each case leaves a surplus of $73.50 for each 
member of the farmer's family and a surplus of 
$38.94 for each member of the family engaged 
in other pursuits. These figures assume the 
same cost of living in each case, while as a mat- 
ter of fact the cost is always much less upon the 
farm than in the city or village. These results 
show that the condition of the average worker 
in agriculture compares as favourably with that 
of the average worker in other lines as does that 



100 FARM MANAGEMENT 

of the exceptional farmer, referred to before, 
with that of the exceptional man in other lines. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE ACTIVE INVESTOR 

For the man with small capital, who wishes to 
manage it himself, agriculture offers a promising 
field. He may begin small and add to his in- 
vestment as rapidly as his capital will permit. 
Upon this point I wish to quote the words of 
Hon. Charles A. Garfield, a Michigan banker, 
well known in agricultural as well as business 
lines. He says : 

'* My personal view with regard to comparative 
successes and failures in the various vocations of 
life is that there are fewer failures in connection 
with soil culture than in almost any other line 
of business activity. I think the promises to- 
day for the young man who has some taste for 
agriculture are better in that realm than in any 
other. In our own state I am impressed with 
the strong advantages of agriculture over mer- 
cantile or manufacturing enterprises. 
In the various fields of agriculture, it seems to 
me there is not the necessity for increased capital- 
isation to cope with modern factors which are 
involved. For instance, in glass farming, a 
man can start out with a little greenhouse, and 
can gradually grow, if he puts the right ability 
into the enterprise, into a tremendous establish- 
ment in the course of a quarter of a century. In 




^ s 



H i 



n 
< 

< 

O 



FARMING VS. OTHER BUSINESS 101 

the same way in out-of-door market gardening, 
I know of men who have started with five acres 
of land, and by manuring heavily with brains, 
have within twelve or fifteen years developed a 
great agricultural enterprise. I think along the 
various lines of agriculture the opportunities 
have increased with the years, while in many 
other avenues of activity it seems to me the 
reverse has been true. In our own state, for 
instance, with the advent of the great department 
stores, the man of small means does not know 
where to dip in, even if he has a taste for trade, 
and the same is true in manufacturing enter- 
prises. But I know of so many successful men 
who have started in a small way with only a 
small branch of agriculture or horticulture and 
made a success of it, that I feel quite safe in 
advising young men to enter this kind of career, 
providing first and always they have a natural 
taste for dealing with the soil. Young men have 
made a pronounced success within my range of 
vision in growing rhubarb or cauliflower or 
celery, or feeding lambs or raising poultry or 
growing roses or violets, and I am inclined more 
and more to think there is no limit to endeavour 
along these lines." 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PASSIVE INVESTOR 

While agriculture offers an excellent field for 
the man who wishes to manage his capital him- 



102 FARM MANAGEMENT 

self, the case is different with the man who wishes 
to invest capital without giving it his personal 
attention. Agriculture is not the place for him. 
So few farms succeed without the owner's close 
attention and oversight that one is almost 
warranted in saying that they cannot be made to 
succeed in this way. To buy and equip a farm 
and expect to secure profit from it by means of 
hired labour and management will almost surely 
bring disappointment. 

Yet for the man with sufficient knowledge of 
agriculture to know how farming operations 
should be carried on, and with sufficient knowl- 
edge of men to secure good tenants, investment 
in land for rent may yield satisfactory returns. 
Instances can be cited of men who choose this 
line of investment in preference to any other. In 
some cases the system of share rental is followed, 
in other cases the system of money rental. With- 
out good tenants, carefully drawn leases, and close 
attention on the part of the owner, however, farms 
will rapidly deteriorate under this system of man- 
agement with a losing investment as the result.* 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE MAN WITHOUT CAPITAL 

Agriculture offers a good field for the young 
man who has tastes in that direction, even though 

*The farms owned by the McCormick estate of Harrisburgr. Pa., afford a good 
illustration of a passive business investment in agriculture. These are primarily 
prain farms and are worked on a system of .share renhil somewhat peculiar to 
the region but with liberal terms to the tenant. The valley farms yield a very 
satisfactory return upon the investment, the mountain farms a somewhat lower 
rate. 




r5 W 



:?; 


-c 


o 


f 


1-1 


o 




u 


f-l 


J3 


•/) 




w 


^ 


> 




^ 


s 






C/1 








w 




K 








r/1 


o 


t3 


« 


a 


^ 




FARMING VS. OTHER BUSINESS 103 

he may have no capital to invest. There is a 
growing demand for men in all lines of agri- 
cultural work. Not only do the United States 
Department of Agriculture, the agricultural 
colleges and experiment stations call for large 
numbers of educated young men, but the cream- 
eries and cheese factories, the farms and the 
private estates call for many more. 

Every wealthy man who buys a farm for a 
summer home must have a manager for it. He 
will usually pay well for the services of a man of 
ability. 

Any young man who can prove his ability to 
make an investment in farm lands pay, will soon 
find capital ready to provide the investment and 
employ his services. In few other ways can a 
young man of limited means secure a better home 
than by becoming the manager of a private 
estate or a successful commercial farm. In 
many cases the home is furnished throughout 
by the employer. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN 

The success of many women who have en- 
gaged in agriculture either from choice or 
necessity, proves that the business offers oppor- 
tunities for women as well as for men. The 
lighter branches of agriculture afford a good 
field for women who have a taste in this direction. 



104 FARM MANAGEMENT 

Many a woman has found profit, health and in- 
dependence in poultry, bees, or fruit, with no 
greater demands upon her physical strength 
than are made by the factory, the counter or the 
office. Floriculture offers excellent inducements 
for the woman with some capital to invest. 
There have been notable successes also in dairy- 
ing and stock-breeding. The outcome of the 
venture depends far more upon the management 
than upon the physical strength employed. A 
good brain at the head will bring success, 
whether in man or woman. Many a farm has 
yielded better returns when its control has fallen 
into the hands of the wife or daughter than it 
did before. 

ATTRACTIVENESS OF SURROUNDINGS 

The attractiveness of one calling as compared 
with another depends much upon personal tastes, 
yet few lines afford the opportunity for work 
among so attractive surroundings as are offered 
to the farmer. The man who works in the open 
fields, 'neath the bright blue skies, with the sum- 
mer clouds at play above his head, has nothing 
to covet from the man who must spend his days in 
the dust and din of a factory, within the narrow 
confines of a store, or the stuffy walls of an office. 
Not all his days can be spent 'neath sunny skies, 
to be sure; he must meet winter's cold and 
summer's heat. Nature's frown as well as her 



FARMING VS. OTHER BUSINESS 105 

smile; but in every mood she offers something 
worthy of his interest, admiration or courage. 
Furthermore his immediate surroundings are 
much more within his own control than are those 
of men in most other callings. He has more 
room to express his individuality. Even the 
disagreeable tasks, and they are many, are laden 
with a personal interest, for their performance 
gives promise of some direct gain or betterment 
as a result of their doing. Let the farmer who 
belittles his commonplace tasks and his sur- 
roundings spend a single week within the dingy 
walls of an oflSce or factory and he will come back 
to his fields a happier and a wiser man. 

HOME MAKING 

The farmer's location is generally permanent. 
Every beauty or convenience which he adds to 
his home are for him and his. Home comes to 
mean something to him and to his children. 
Each improvement in buildings or equip- 
ment means far more than the possible profit 
which the change may afford. He may plant 
a tree and hope to gather the fruit, a shrub and 
expect to enjoy its bloom, adorn his home with 
plantings and watch the development of the 
picture. All these things, and they mean much, 
many a man never knows. His home is his 
only so long as the monthly payment for rent is 



106 FARM MANAGEMENT 

forthcoming. Improvements are rare and only 
as a result of persuasive interviews with the land- 
lord. If he plants so much as a strawberry 
plant another may eat the fruit. His children 
know no home ; they know only the house where 
they live. They never know the joy of gathering 
fruit and flowers from their own plants, the free- 
dom of their own fields, the sense of ownership in 
the realities of life. 

FAMILY EMPLOYMENT 

The farm offers something for each member 
of the family to do. It is the ideal home for 
children. Not only can the child cooperate in 
the affairs of the home but he can be given 
opportunity for enterprises of his own. A 
swarm of bees, a setting of eggs, a pig, or a patch 
of ground in strawberries or potatoes, with a 
little judicious advice from the parent, will 
afford the opportunity for self-earned money, 
which every child so much covets, and a begin- 
ing in business training as well. With the com- 
ing of years and experience such a beginning 
may readily develop into an important 
branch of the farm economy. With its 
development has come, too, an interest in 
the home and the business and a freedom 
from temptation which few other callings 
can offer. 



FARMING VS. OTHER BUSINESS 107 

INDEPENDENCE AND SERVICE 

Interdependence, not independence, is the 
rule of life. No man is wholly independent, nor 
should he care to be. Yet no man enjoys more 
of the independence which is worth enjoying than 
the farmer. He is tied to no whistle string; he 
runs at the beck and call of no man; he yields 
his views and his vote to none. The fact that 
it is easier to become an independent business 
man in farming than in other lines of business 
renders the opportunity for independence greater 
in this calling than in others. 

No calling can claim a monopoly of the oppor- 
tunities for service. Men need help and en- 
couragement in every walk of life and in every 
corner of the globe. He who will may lend help 
wherever he goes. Let no one feel that his 
opportunities for usefulness will be diminished by 
answering the call of the farm. Farmers are 
often better informed, more thoughtful, and 
possessed of better judgment than men of similar 
advantages in other lines. The farmer has more 
time for thought than many other men have. 
The obstacles which he meets develop resource- 
fulness and judgment. His isolation may de- 
velop a trace of suspicion in his nature and his 
habit of solving his own problems may make it 
difficult for him readily to cooperate with others 
in an undertaking, but his opinions, if he be an 



108 FARM MANAGEMENT 

educated and intelligent man, are worthy of 
attention and generally carry weight. The prob- 
lems which confront American agriculture to-day 
are weighty ones; they demand the best intelli- 
gence available for their solution. The educated 
man possessed of the quality of leadership will 
find ample scope for his activities in the farm 
community which he may chance to make his 
home. 



CHAPTER IX 

MARKETING PROBLEMS — THE IMPORTANCE OF 

PRICE 

THE importance of marketing can scarcely 
be overestimated. It is easy to over- 
look the significance of apparently slight 
variations in the price of products. The chief 
reason for this is the fact that the item of 
cost is so obscured that it never stands out as it 
should in the comparison. The addition of 
10% to the price of an article sold means an 
increase of 10% in the cost to the buyer; it 
means a very different thing to the farmer. Let 
us illustrate the problem with an acre of potatoes. 
Under skilful methods, with good potato soil, an 
acre can be made to produce 200 bushels and 
the product be marketed near at hand for $50. 
This means twenty-five cents per bushel. If 
now the product is sold at thirty cents per bushel 
there is a profit of five cents, or 20% on the 
investment, the profit on the acre being $10. If 
the price is thirty-five cents the profit is ten cents 
per bushel or 40% on the investment. The 
profit on the acre in one case is $10, in the other 
it is $20. One acre under the latter condition 
therefore yields just as much return as two acres 

109 



110 FARM MANAGEMENT 

under the former, with a much smaller in- 
vestment, but the farmer may be blinded to the 
fact because in the one case he receives $120, 
while in the other he receives only $70. Unless 
he is accustomed to carefully count the cost it 
will be difficult for him to realise that the smaller 
amount yields him as large a return as the larger. 
One may well afford to spend time, thought and 
expense, if thereby the selling price of products 
can be legitimately increased. I am not in 
sympathy with any movement to extort unjust 
prices from the consumer, particularly upon 
staple articles of necessity, but it is most im- 
portant to secure full value for products sold. 

TRANSPORTATION 

Population is unevenly distributed, likewise 
production, but the distribution of production 
bears little or no relation to that of population. 
Price is determined by the demand at those 
centres where consumption most exceeds pro- 
duction. The price to a given producer is there- 
fore scaled down in proportion to the cost of 
bringing his product to this centre of demand. 
It matters not that so far as personal needs are 
concerned the product may be worth as much in 
the one place as in the other. The price is 
determined by what the surplus over and above 
home consumption will bring. In so far as it 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 111 

costs the distant producer more to freight his 
product to market than it does the nearby 
producer in just so far is location a bar to the 
one and a protection to the other. This differ- 
ence, it should be noted, is never proportionate 
to the distance. 

The long haul always costs proportionately 
less than the short haul, for reasons which apply 
to the farmer in hauling his product to the station 
as well as to the railroad in hauling it from the 
station to the market. The heaviest items of 
expense to the railroad are not in paying the 
engineer, the conductor and the brakemen, 
and furnishing the coal needed to carry the 
farmer's load to market, but in supplying the 
road, the engine and the cars, in keeping them in 
order and in paying the interest on the money 
invested. The farmer must be allowed time to 
load his product and the merchant must be 
allowed time to unload it. When the car is started 
the additional cost of running it another hundred 
miles is very little compared to the cost of the 
first hundred. Further than this, there may be 
good reasons of business policy, which we need 
not stop to determine, but which make it ad- 
visable for the railroad to give the long shipper 
an advantage. 

The average difference in the farm price of 
corn in Nebraska and New York on December 
1st for ten years previous to and including 1902 



112 FARM MANAGEMENT 

was 22.8 cents. While this may not be the exact 
cost of shipping a bushel of corn from one 
state to the other it represents the practical 
result of this cost. It means that the Nebraska 
grower must be able to produce corn that much 
cheaper in order to compete with the New 
York grower. Thus far he has been able to do 
it by mining out the fertility stored in the soil 
during long periods of growth and decay of 
vegetable matter. When that process begins to 
fail, as it surely will, and indeed is already doing, 
he must seek other advantages, or depend upon 
the chance that his eastern competitor may 
find other lines still more profitable than corn 
growing and so leave the field in part free to 
him. So long as the cost of transportation 
remains unchanged the New York grower can 
rest assured of approximately that difference in 
price and the Nebraska grower must accept the 
handicap. If each decides to transform his corn 
into beef or pork before shipping, the problem 
becomes a different one. 

Transportation is an important factor in deter- 
mining the type of farming to be followed, or in 
determining the choice of a location if the kind 
of farming has already been decided. If distant 
markets must be depended upon, products must 
be chosen upon which the cost of transportation 
is not excessive and which will bear transporta- 
tion well and reach the market in good condition. 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 113 

Wheat and small fruits are good examples of 
products well and ill adapted to reaching distant 
markets. It should be said however that modern 
methods have made great strides in doing away 
with these difiSculties in marketing, wherever the 
product of an individual or a community is 
sufficiently large to warrant special effort in 
caring for it. 

Where public transportation must be de- 
pended upon there is great advantage in choosing 
a location which gives access to competing lines. 
This is particularly true if there is competition 
between rail and water service. Water service 
has distinct advantages in the matter of injury in 
transit for some perishable products. The 
trolley freight should offer the best means of 
transportation in many cases. 

More important than all else in the matter of 
public transportation is the size of the shipments, 
secured by large production or by cooperative 
marketing and shipment. With carload ship- 
ments and a business which is worth the 
consideration of the transportation companies, 
refrigerator service, concessions in freight rates or 
other privileges may be had which are entirely 
out of the question with the small shipper. This 
is well illustrated by the cooperative fruit 
shipping associations of the far West. For 
this reason there is a decided advantage in loca- 
ting where others are engaged in the same line 



114 FARM MANAGEMENT 

of business or in inducing others to adopt the 
line which one is following. Not only does this 
secure advantages in transportation but likewise 
attracts the attention of buyers so that oftentimes 
it may be possible to sell the product on track, 
thereby avoiding the uncertainties of shipment 
and commission. 

The greatest deficiency in American methods 
of transportation, a deficiency which bears with 
particular force upon the farmer, is the lack of a 
parcels post which will enable him to send or 
receive small parcels at reasonable cost. Should 
he wish to furnish to a customer in the city a ten 
pound package of butter the least possible charge 
for the service in twenty-five cents. Two and 
one-half cents per pound standing between him 
and his customer is very likely prohibitive. Were 
he so fortunate as to live in a free country like 
Germany, instead of one governed by monopoly, 
like the United States, he could take his package 
to the post ofiice and send it anywhere within a 
distance of forty-six English miles for six cents, 
or a greater distance for twelve cents. Should 
he chance to live in Switzerland he could send his 
ten-pound package (not exceeding eleven pounds 
in gross weight, as in Germany) anywhere within 
the republic for eight cents. This price in 
Switzerland also includes an indemnity of $3 in 
case there should be a delay of over twenty- 
four hours beyond the proper time of delivery 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 115 

and a further insurance against loss or damage. 
A like advantage exists in ordering small sup- 
plies from the city. Rather strangely the postal 
service in those countries is conducted in a way 
to benefit the people rather than to benefit 
the express companies. Ex-Postmaster-General 
Wanamaker has well said that the only reasons 
why we should not have a similar service in the 
United States are the great express companies. 
If the American farmer feels that those reasons are 
adequate to overbalance the advantages to him- 
self and other members of the community he 
should take care to see that they prevail; if he 
feels that they are not he should make his voice 
and his vote felt with a force and a meaning which 
shall not be misunderstood. 

The question of private transportation in 
reaching the market or the shipping point is 
one of no less importance than the one of public 
transportation. Assuming hay to be worth $15 
per ton, wheat seventy-five cents per bushel, pork 
five cents per pound and butter twenty cents per 
pound, a ton of hay is worth $15, a ton of wheat 
$25, a ton of pork $100 and a ton of butter $400. 
If it costs a farmer, fifteen miles from market, 
$2.50 per ton to haul his products that distance 
this amount from each of the above sums must 
be chargeable to marketing. In the case of hay 
the amount is 16f per cent, of the selling price, 
with wheat it is 10 per cent, pork 2 J per cent, and 



116 FARM MANAGEMENT 

butter f of one per cent. It will be readily seen, 
therefore, that the farmer so located is at a 
decided disadvantage in competing with one a 
mile from market in the growing of hay, or even 
wheat, but that the disadvantage is largely 
removed when it comes to pork and butter, as- 
suming that it is possible to market a large 
amount of the latter at once. Under present 
conditions this is seldom done from the farms, 
though it used to be the common custom, and 
by means of cold storage is still possible. The 
cost is not in direct proportion to the distance, 
to be sure, for loading and unloading are the 
same in either case. Granting that a team and 
driver capable of handling a ton and a half on 
ordinary roads can average two and one-half 
miles per hour, that the team must travel one 
way unloaded, and that the cost is thirty cents 
per hour, the cost of the hauling itself will be 
sixteen cents per ton for each mile, an important 
item for consideration in the marketing of prod- 
ucts which have a low value per ton. 

Certain products, particularly berries, are 
injured by long distances over rough country 
roads. This too should be considered in de- 
termining upon the type of farming to be fol- 
lowed or the location to be chosen. 

In wagon transportation, as in railway trans- 
portation, the quantity of product is an important 
consideration. Many a man doing a small 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 117 

business spends nearly the value of his product 
in the time consumed in getting it to market. 
If our farmer located fifteen miles from market 
makes a trip costing $2.50 in time to deliver 
fifty pounds of butter at twenty cents per pound, 
25 per cent, of what he receives has been con- 
sumed in the marketing. If he delivers 200 
pounds instead, the cost of marketing has been 
6-^ per cent., while if he can make it possible to 
deliver a ton at once the cost is but f of one per 
cent., as before noted. If the small fruit grower 
five miles from market makes a trip costing fifty 
cents in time to deliver a single crate of berries 
for which he receives $3 he has consumed 16f per 
cent, of the value in delivering it. If he delivers 
five crates the cost has been but 3^ per cent. 

The reader m.ay say that it does not cost him 
this amount. He goes himself, so there is no 
labour charge and he drives his own team for 
which he has nothing to pay. He receives the 
full amount of his sales and there is nothing to 
deduct for marketing. It were perhaps for- 
tunate for him if there were. He is misled by 
this very fact. The cost is obscured and he 
therefore does not perceive it. Bat let him 
analyse the matter carefully and he will surely 
find it. A fair value for his own time, if he is 
such a farmer as he should be, plus the items of 
feed, depreciation and maintenance on team, 
harness and wagon, will aggregate a sum much 



118 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



larger than he may think. His own time is 
most important; it should be made to count for 
the most possible. His mere presence and 
oversight where work is going on may often 
amount to more than the labour of any two other 
men. One of the chief disadvantages of growing 
a large number of miscellaneous crops lies in 
this fact of increased cost of marketing. 

The condition of the roads and the size of the 
load are other very important factors in the cost 
of marketing many products. One phase of 
the problem is well illustrated in the following 
table based upon figures of draft taken from the 
Experiment Station Handbook. Assuming that 
an ordinary team will draw a load of 3,000 
pounds on good earth roads on which the grade 
does not exceed three feet rise in one hundred, 
the same force will handle loads of the amounts 
indicated under the different conditions. 

Size of load equivalent to 3,000 pounds and 
wagon on earth road with three feet grade in 
one hundred. 





GRADE 




3 Feet Rise in 100 


9 Feet Rise in 100 




Load and 
Wagon 


Net Weight 
of Load 


Load and 
Wagon 


Net Weight 
of Load 


Earth road .... 
Macadam road. 


4000 

8000 


3000 
VOOO 


2600 
3900 


1600 
2900 



Let the reader make his own comparison as 
to the cost of marketing a heavy product like 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 119 

potatoes under the two conditions of a hilly 
earth road and a macadam road of easy even 
grade. Suffice it to say that under the con- 
ditions illustrated above the same load means 
26f bushels in the one case and 116f in the 
other. Much steeper grades than nine feet in 
100 are often found. The above figures assume 
both to be in good condition. The influence 
of mud and ruts is no less important than that 
of grade, though less easily determined. 

Although a team may put forth extra exertion 
in climbing a hill, the size of load is limited, in the 
main, by the steepest or poorest spot in the road 
to be travelled, not by the condition of the greater 
portion of it. If a single steep hill or swampy 
strip occurs in the ten miles of road between the 
farmer and the market each load during his 
lifetime must be reduced, perhaps one-half, 
by reason of that one place. Yet it may be that 
a comparatively small outlay would change the 
location of the road to avoid the hill in the one 
case or drain it to avoid the swamp in the other. 
No better argument for good roads need be ad- 
vanced than a careful study of the cost of market- 
ing farm products. In choosing a farm the 
condition of the roads should be carefully 
considered. 

Another important factor is to be considered 
with reference to the size of load to be handled. 
The farmer as an individual cannot determine 



120 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



what the nature of the roads shall be and he may 
not care to change his location for the purpose of 
securing better ones, but he can control the 
character of the outfit with which he handles his 
loads. The above table considers simply what 
load a given force will draw under different con- 
ditions. Grant, as before, that an ordinary 
team of two horses will handle without difficulty 
a load of 3,000 pounds on a wagon weighing 
1,000 pounds under the prevailing conditions. 
Supposing the distance to be such that it takes 
a whole day to market a load of produce, and 
allowing $1.50 per day for the man and $1.50 
for the team, the cost of marketing the load is 
$3, or $2 per ton. Now let the farmer provide 
a third horse able to do the same amount as the 
others. The comparative cost will then be as 
follows. 



Two horses. 
Three horses 



Load and 
Wagon 


Net Weight 
of Load 


Cost per 
Load 


4000 
6000 


3000 

5000 


$3.00 
3.75 



Cost per 
Ton 

$^.00 

1.50 



It should be observed that while the third 
horse entails no additional cost for driver it 
makes a much more than corresponding increase 
of load possible. Each horse draws 2,000 pounds, 
but in the first case 500 pounds of this is repre- 
sented by the wagon, while the addition of the 
third horse is equivalent to providing for 2,000 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 121 

pounds more of load alone. With bulky prod- 
ucts the question of wagon capacity may be 
the determining factor but the outcome may be 
equally important. 

Another point which enters into the problem 
of transportation in many cases is that of the 
comparative cost of marketing by team or by 
rail. An extensive farmer whom I know markets 
nearly all his produce, including milk, potatoes 
and vegetables, in a city fifteen miles away. 
Three miles from the farm is a wharf from which 
a steamer plies to another city but none to the 
city where the marketing is done. When asked 
if he would use it if there were one running to 
this city he said no, that when the products were 
once loaded and carried that far it was cheaper 
to take them the remainder of the way and 
deliver them wherever wanted than to unload 
them at the wharf, pay freight, and provide for 
cartage at the other end. 

The problem is one which admits of easy 
solution for a given case. If the actual cost of 
hauling is determined in the manner before 
suggested and reduced to the lowest limit by pro- 
viding for large loads, this can be readily com- 
pared with the cost of delivering to the railway 
station plus freight charges and extra cartage, 
if any, at the other end. With three horses and 
a load of two and one-half tons the cost per mile 
aside from loading and unloading, may not exceed 



122 FARM MANAGEMENT 

twelve cents per ton, as against sixteen cents 
with two horses handHng one and one-half tons. 
Much depends upon the speed at which the team 
moves. This again can often be further reduced 
by developing some side line which will provide 
for a load in the opposite direction. The farmer 
above mentioned makes a business of bringing 
back grain, and sometimes coal, which he sells 
to his neighbours at a price which affords good 
pay for the hauling. If he carts hay or other 
products to the city for others he expects to get 
about four dollars per ton, but for carting grain 
back he gets two and one-half to three dollars 
per ton. In this problem distance is the all- 
important factor up to the point where transpor- 
tation by team begins to equal that by rail. 
Beyond that point it matters less, for cost 
of freight varies but little whether the dis- 
ance be ten, twenty-five, or one hundred 
miles. 

WHOLESALE VS. RETAIL MARKET 

The choice between a wholesale and a retail 
trade is one which it is often hard to make. 
Retail trade has the advantage of better price, 
and sometimes the advance seems to be much 
more than the conditions warrant. The higher 
price lends a peculiar fascination to this phase 
of the business and the farmer who is selling at 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 123 

wholesale is always tempted to try to secure the 
prices prevailing at retail. In general he must 
decide which he will choose, for the two do not 
work well together. The man who makes a 
business of selling at retail is at a decided dis- 
advantage in the market if he comes to it with a 
surplus which he has been unable to dispose 
of to his retail trade. Even if he ships his sur- 
plus to another market than that in which he 
retails, he is but an occasional shipper, sending 
an irregular amount, and therefore receives less 
attention than the regular shipper. 

Against the higher price obtainable at retail 
must be placed several disadvantages, first of 
which is the increased cost of marketing. If a 
man spends half a day with his team at a cost of 
$1.50 in seUing $10 worth of produce he might 
have allowed the grocer to make nearly 18% 
on his purchase price and still be as well off 
himself. Furthermore, there is likely to be 
a much larger percentage of waste in a retail 
business. There will be irregularities of trade; 
one can never provide exactly for the wants of 
his customers. If he has too much there is 
waste, if too little someone is dissatisfied and 
may seek another source of supply. One family 
which uses a regular supply may have suddenly 
left town. Some customers may want string 
beans when he has only peas; others have a 
complaint to enter regarding what he has to 



124 FARM MANAGEMENT 

offer or what they bought before. There are 
many petty annoyances from which a wholesale 
trade is free. More important still, there is 
likely to be a demand for credit, either as a 
regular condition of trade, or on one pretext or 
another. This means additional trouble in 
keeping accounts and some percentage of in- 
evitable loss. 

Retail sales offer an advantage in working 
up a special trade which caters to customers 
able and willing to pay a fancy price for a fancy 
article. It is easier to make a name for one's 
products in dealing directly with the customer, 
but this can also be done through the regular 
channels of trade. As against this advantage 
of a special trade it should be remembered that 
it costs money to advertise and secure such a 
trade. This advertising may be equally costly 
if it takes the form of personal solicitation and 
exhibition or presentation of samples rather 
than printed matter in circulars or newspaper 
columns. It is further important that such a 
trade be managed by a good salesman, which 
not all farmers are. To be a successful salesman 
demands many things; very few men can fulfil 
all the requiremnents. 

The most important difference between the 
two systems is that of influence upon the size of 
the business. A retail business is almost from 
necessity self-limiting. If the farmer depends 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 125 

upon his own efforts and a single team to do the 
marketing his business can never become large. 
The only way to expand is to put on more teams 
in charge of different persons, when his business 
assumes in some degree the nature of a wholesale 
trade. If a large business is desired it will be 
found much easier to develop it along wholesale 
lines. A careful analysis of the problem under 
existing conditions will very often show that the 
time and expense bestowed upon the marketing 
in a retail business will yield larger returns if 
devoted to an increase in the amount of the busi- 
ness with a wholesale trade. Larger production 
generally means cheaper production. Larger 
production, cheaper production, less expense in 
marketing, with lower prices, may mean more 
profit than smaller and more expensive pro- 
duction with higher prices. One fact in con- 
nection with this problem is significant. It is 
a common occurrence to see men changing from 
a retail to a wholesale business as their experience 
and business develop. They are seldom seen 
changing from a wholesale to a retail business. 
As an instance of this I call to mind the case 
of a bright young farmer who had developed 
a good family trade for fine butter but who 
states that he has let that trade drift away 
without regret, finding it much more satis- 
factory to let the grocer stand between him 
and the customer. 



126 FARM MANAGEMENT 

GENERAL VS. A SPECIAL MARKET 

Another problem of importance in connection 
with marketing is that of determining whether 
to cater to the general market or to a special 
market — in other words whether to produce as 
much as possible of ordinary grades, or to strive 
for a superior product in the hope of securing a 
higher price. The question is one not easily 
answered, and the answer may differ much with 
the problem in hand. Poor products seldom 
pay; this much may be accepted without debate. 
It further holds true that in general, the better 
the product the better the price. Within cer- 
tain limits it also holds true that the better the 
product the greater the profit. Beyond these 
limits it does not hold true and the limits may be 
reached much sooner under some conditions 
than others. A market made up largely of 
wealthy people, with whom quality and 
appearance are paramount and price secondary, 
will pay well for extra care to produce a fancy 
product. A manufacturing town, made up of 
labouring people, with whom price is all impor- 
tant, will not return the extra outlay. It should 
not be forgotten that fancy products cost more 
than ordinary ones. No man, no matter how 
great his skill, can make every fruit grow perfect. 
A larger percentage must be thrown out to make 
it grade high. A case in point is that of a 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 127 

producer of fancy milk who found that the price 
of ten cents per quart which he was getting did 
not pay expenses; he was therefore obHged to 
raise the price to twelve cents, a move which 
not every producer can make. 

\^^len circumstances permit, it may be found 
better to place the fancy article in one market and 
the ordinary one in another. The ordinary 
product may bring more in an ordinary market 
than in the fancy market, and even more in 
proportion than the fancy one does in the fancy 
market. An illustration known to the author 
is that of a farmer living within reach of both 
Fall River and Newport. While depending 
upon Fall River as his principal market he 
sometimes finds it advantageous to place a 
superior article in Newport. If we remonstrate 
with the Western apple grower for planting Ben 
Davis apple trees he answers with the cold logic 
that this apple yields him more money than 
would any apple of higher quality which he 
might grow. He is perfectly right in this, for 
the reason that most people are content with 
an apple; they do not insist that it shall be a 
good apple. The Western grower caters to the 
great general markets of the country. A New 
England grower, with a select family trade to 
supply, would be very unwise to grow Ben 
Davis. 

Every writer considers it proper to advise the 



128 FARM MANAGEMENT 

farmer to grow a better product and put it upon 
the market in better shape. He may well heed 
this advice in so far that he shall always try to 
produce a product fully up to the average grade 
to which the market is accustomed. Whether 
he shall heed it beyond this point he should 
determine for himself, by a careful study of all 
the points which the problem involves. As a 
consumer of moderate means I do not insist that 
every peach in the basket shall be of maximum 
size and colour. I am more concerned that the 
basket shall be offered at a price which I can 
afford. I will be content with the proportion 
of the finest specimens which the tree produced 
if the rest are only good. My neighbour across 
the bay may want all selected fruits and be 
willing to pay the price. The farmer will do 
well to learn which basket to offer to each. He 
can learn by studying the men and the markets, 
not by asking advice of the Professor. 

HOME vs. A DISTANT MARKET 

The question of home markets as compared 
with markets at a distance is closely involved 
with those preceding. The common advice to 
first look well to the home market is particularly 
good for a retail trade. It often happens that 
even in a farming community there may be 
found ready sale for special products like fruit 




r "=" 

w ^- 

< J 

o 'l 

OS S 

< 2 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 129 

or honey. Freight, commission and injury or 
loss in transportation are heavy items of expense 
in deahng with a distant market. If the home 
market will care for the output it is more than 
likely to be the best market available. Yet 
there are plenty of exceptions to the rule. If the 
farm is located where retail prices are low it may 
pay well to put the better products, at least, into 
a market which will pay higher prices. With a 
product like peaches, which admit of careful 
selection and grading, the general market may 
be at home, the special market at a distance, or 
vice versa. It is well to learn as much as pos- 
sible of general market conditions in other 
localities. It may often be possible to place 
products which stand shipment well in a distant 
market with advantage. 

In selling at retail in the home market the 
question arises whether it is better for the farmer 
himself to do the selling or delegate it to another. 
It is not so much a question of whether he can 
do the marketing as well or better than some one 
else as it is a question of whether his time is 
better spent there than on the farm. Among the 
large market gardeners about Boston it is the 
common custom for the farmer himself to remain 
on the farm, to superintend that end of the 
business, and to employ some one else to sell the 
produce when it reaches the city. These gar- 
deners are good business men and their solution 



130 FARM MANAGEMENT 

of the problem is likely to be a good one. On one 
large farm I know, managed by a father and 
four sons, two of the sons remained in the city 
to attend to the marketing, while the father and 
the two other sons remained on the farm to push 
things there. In this case a retail milk route 
forms one of the lines. One of these men when 
asked about this problem gave it as his opinion 
that selling at retail can best be done by a boy, 
preferably the farmer's own son, if he has one, 
otherwise by a boy hired for the purpose. He 
believes that people generally prefer to trade 
with a boy and that they are less exacting with 
him than with a man. 

DIRECT SALE VS. COMMISSION 

Another important marketing problem with 
a wholesale trade is that of whether to attempt 
direct sales or to sell on commission. The 
first point to be recognised in this connection is 
that the commission man knows the markets 
better. He is not to be deceived by the customer 
as to the value of products. He may, therefore, 
get a better price for the same article than the 
shipper would be able to get himself unless the 
latter is constantly in the market. The com- 
mission man also knows his customers better. 
He is less likely to be caught with bad accounts, 
being responsible himself for the amount for 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 131 

which the goods sell. On the other hand, he 
may be more interested in some other man's 
products. He is receiving things from a large 
number of people and must sell them all. He 
must take care of his regular customers first, 
unless, perchance, he may hope to win a good 
customer by special attention to a small ship« 
ment. All in all we must depend much upon 
his sense of honour and his reputation for fair 
dealing. If he is honest and energetic he will 
be able to sell our products at less cost than we 
can do it ourselves and make the transaction 
profitable both to us and to him. He may even 
be able to work up a special trade for us better 
than we could do it ourselves. If he does this 
and treats us fairly we should be careful not to 
cut off our shipments and give them to some 
other firm or city. He may not then care to 
build up another special trade if we wish to come 
back. 

If production is large and it is possible to put 
the right man in the market and keep him there, 
so that he may become as familiar with the mar- 
ket as is the commission man himself, it may be 
more profitable for the producer to do his own 
selling. Particularly is this true if the market 
is near enough to be reached directly by team 
from the farm. The amount of business to be 
done is the all important factor. With small 
and irregular shipments from distant points 



132 FARM MANAGEMENT 

it is safer to let the commission man handle 
them. 

Direct sales may possess an advantage in 
working off the lower grade products. Com- 
mission houses like to handle a uniform grade, 
so far as possible, and may not care to bother 
with that part of the product which falls into 
lower grades. With direct sales it is often 
possible to find customers who are willing to 
handle these at prices corresponding to their 
quality. I was recently impressed with this fact 
in seeing early potatoes dug for market. All the 
small ones went into boxes by themselves to go 
to the bakers. I was further surprised to learn 
that the price received reached well up toward 
that obtained for the larger size, being at that 
time eighty-five to ninety cents per bushel. The 
grower said that a commission firm would not 
want to bother with them. 

DIVISION OF SHIPMENTS 

Division of shipments to the same market is 
generally condemned, on the ground that it 
places one in competition with his own goods. 
It is better to select one commission firm and 
stand by that firm. Yet there may be exceptions 
even to this rule. Not only do different cities 
differ in their market demands, but likewise 
different localities in the same city and different 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 133 

firms in the same locality. A study of the 
market may reveal the fact that one firm may 
handle the fancy grades with success but 
give little attention to poorer products. An- 
other may have a trade which will consume 
ordinary grades at a fair price but will not pay 
proportionately for fancy products. In such 
a case division of shipments for products which 
naturally separate into different grades is as 
clearly indicated for different firms of the 
same city as for different cities under similar 
conditions. 

A CITY SALESMAN 

Many of the market gardeners about Boston 
employ a city salesman, a man who is paid a 
good salary and whose business it is to look out 
for the market end of the problem, to see that 
things go and that the money for them is forth- 
coming. As before suggested, where the pro- 
duction is large, and especially where the market 
can be quickly reached by team this method of 
selling has manifest advantages. The salesman 
keeps in close touch with the farm by wire and 
the products sent are varied as the condition of 
the market may indicate. Probably in no 
other way can a large wholesale business be 
made to return so much for the amount of prod- 
ucts sold. 



134 FARM MANAGEMENT 

A CITY STORE 

A fascinating idea in this connection is that 
of running a city store in which to market the 
products of the farm. It seems that one should 
be able to fit up an attractive store where it 
would be easy to work up a special trade for 
high-class products direct from the farm. The 
plan is in vogue but little and has several serious 
objections. To warrant the expense of main- 
taining such a store and attract an adequate 
trade it would be necessary to carry a large 
variety of products. If these were all produced 
on the farm it would entail the extreme disad- 
vantages of mixed farming in the matter of pro- 
duction. One store cannot handle enough of 
most products to permit of economical produc- 
tion. The man who grows cabbages, potatoes, 
or strawberries extensively will readily supply 
a number of stores with all they can handle. To 
hold custom in such a store it would be necessary 
to maintain a complete assortment of the various 
products which are handled. This would neces- 
sitate more or less purchase of products, for 
production cannot be accurately adjusted to the 
demands of the market. When products come 
to be purchased there is less certainty of quality 
and the business begins to lose its character of 
furnishing products from a particular farm, 
which is its chief argument for existing and 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 135 

seeking trade. It really develops into an attempt 
to manage two lines of business at the same time, 
and few men can do that with success. Con- 
ditions may exist where the undertaking would 
be warranted, but the problem should be care- 
fully studied before such a venture is made. 
These objections do not apply with the same 
force to the rent of a stall in a public market 
where it is the custom for farmers to bring their 
products for sale. 

A MAIL ORDER BUSINESS 

For a farmer distant from market who wishes 
to develop a retail trade or even a grocery trade 
there would seem to be possibilities in a mail 
order business. Here and there a man has done 
this by letting his goods themselves find addi- 
tional purchasers. By choosing a few things 
which will bear shipment well, and upon which 
the cost of transportation is not too great in 
proportion to their value, such a line of marketing 
might offer good inducements. The plan would 
demand judicious advertising, preferably in the 
form of neatly printed circulars, and thorough 
business methods of correspondence. Many 
people would be glad to purchase products 
directly from the farm if they knew where to do 
so. By getting names in various ways and 
using circulars judiciously it should be possible 



136 FARM MANAGEMENT 

to work up such a trade without great expense. 
It would not be free from the disadvantages of a 
retail trade of other sorts but would be possible 
in many cases where a direct trade would not 
be. For many products it is far less feasible 
than it should be owing to the want of a parcels 
post system. 

COOPERATIVE MARKETING 

Cooperation has added greatly to the success 
of modern marketing. By this means it is 
possible for the small shipper to secure the ad- 
vantage in rates, car service and marketing 
facilities which otherwise are only available to 
the large shipper. The cooperative fruit- 
shipping associations of the West, the co- 
operative creameries throughout the Eastern 
states and other organisations of similiar nature 
have proved the wisdom of this method of 
attacking the marketing problem for certain 
conditions. Time is likely to witness a great 
extension of the system. The method is 
particularly feasible where distant markets must 
be reached and is only practicable where num- 
bers of men are engaged in the same line of 
production. 

VARIETIES, PACKING AND GRADING 

Much might be written upon grading and 
packing products for market, but a day in the 



MARKETING PROBLEMS 137 

market itself will be worth more than a whole 
book upon the subject. Different markets are 
accustomed to different packages, different sizes 
and different methods. The farmer must famil- 
iarise himself with the one in which he expects to 
compete. This much can be said, that for the 
general market it is always best to put things up 
in the manner to which the market is accustomed. 
It is not a question of which is the best package, 
perhaps not even of what is strictly an honest 
package, in some cases. It is a question of 
what kind of package the buyers in that market 
are accustomed to expect. For the general 
trade that is the package to use. The man who 
seeks a special trade and has the ability to push 
it may find a special package admissible, or even 
advisable, but the general producer will not. 

What has been said in regard to packages 
applies with equal force to varieties. For a 
wholesale market, and nearly always for a retail 
one, it is far better to grow well-known varieties. 
It matters little that another variety may be 
better, it will not go like the one which people 
are accustomed to buy. This is a lesson which 
each man has to learn for himself, but it is one 
which must be learned. This does not apply 
to varieties so similar that they may pass under 
the name of the old, a common practice in all 
large markets. 

A word may be said as to grading. It is easy 



138 FARM MANAGEMENT 

to lose money by not properly grading the 
products to be sold. It takes but a small pro- 
portion of poor specimens in a package to 
materially reduce the selling price. When well- 
sorted apples are selling at $2 per barrel it would 
take very few culls in each barrel to reduce the 
price to $1.50 per barrel. The problem might 
work out something as follows : Ten barrels, un- 
sorted, would bring $15. If by sorting these 
would make eight barrels of standard grade 
worth $2 per barrel and two barrels of culls 
worth $1 per barrel the value would be increased 
to $18. The differences will often be much 
greater than this. The problem is so variable 
that it is not easy to illustrate, but it is one which 
demands careful study by every one who has 
products to market. 



CHAPTER X 

ADVERTISING 

BUSINESS men long ago learned that ad- 
vertising pays if done in the right way 
and through the right channels. Farm- 
ers have scarcely come to realise that their busi- 
ness needs advertising; yet if judiciously done it 
may prove of as much advantage in farm- 
ing operations as in commercial lines. A 
number of different methods may be employed 
with advantage, among which may be mentioned 
the following: 

1. The Appearance of the Farm and the 
Crops. — People are constantly passing and sel- 
dom pass a place without forming some impres- 
sion of the farmer who lives upon it. If the farm 
has a good word for the owner the impression will 
stay with the passer-by. No one can fail to 
carry away a better impression from a farm on 
which the buildings are kept in repair, the sur- 
roundings neat and the crops show good 
husbandry. When such a man has products to 
sell the farm itself will help to dispose of them 
wherever it is known to the purchaser. 

2. The Appearance of the Farmer and his 
Team. — Farmers are too apt to take pride in 

139 



140 FARM MANAGEIVIENT 

appearing slovenly, rather than in appearing well- 
dressed and businesslike; yet all that has been 
said with reference to the farm applies with equal 
or greater force to the farmer himself. A man 
who carries with him a businesslike air and ap- 
pearance possesses a manifest advantage over his 
careless neighbour. He may not be able to 
measure this advantage in dollars and cents for 
he may never know just where and how it brings 
dollars and cents, but that it will bring them 
there can be no doubt, provided he endeavours to 
make his business what it is possible to make it. 
Like many other essential things this alone can- 
not insure success, but it may greatly contribute 
to success in combination with other things. 

3. The Farm Name. — This in itself may not be 
an important factor. The name of the farmer will 
carry greater weight than the name of the farm, 
but the two together will carry more than either. 
A well-chosen, attractive name will help to 
intensify the favourable impression made by the 
appearance of a well-ordered farm itself. If 
this name is used constantly in business trans- 
actions it will come to serve as a trade-mark 
which will help to sell goods. 

4. Letterheads. — Business men no longer carry 
on correspondence on plain paper. They make 
every letter carry an advertisement. The cost 
of printing a neat aad attractive letterhead is 
only a trifle. If you have never inquired, go to 



ADVERTISING 141 

the local printer and he will surprise you at the 
small figure named for doing such a job. Give 
careful attention to what shall go on this head 
and to the type which is used. Do not attempt 
to put on too much nor to use too fancy figures or 
characters. A neat, tasty make-up is much to 
be preferred. It can be printed in coloured ink 
if you wish. 

5. Printed Envelopes. — The letter carries an 
advertisement only to the person to whom it is 
written. The envelope may carry one through 
many hands. Therefore, by all means, use 
printed envelopes. These need cost nothing 
extra except the payment of some postage in ad- 
vance. The post office department will print the 
name of the farm and post office address on the 
upper corner of stamped envelopes, without 
extra cost, whenever five hundred are ordered 
at once. These may be obtained either with 
one-cent or two-cent stamps, the former requir- 
ing less outlay at once, as a one-cent stamp can 
be added whenever letter postage is required and 
the envelopes be used if circulars or other matter 
requiring but one-cent postage are at any time 
to be sent out. 

6. Shipping Cards. — The shipping card will 
do in business shipments what the envelope does 
in business correspondence, carry the farm ad- 
vertisement wherever it goes. Its appearance 
on any commodity in itself tends to give character 



142 FARM MANAGEMENT 

to the article. Many uses for the cards will 
appear which will far more than repay the cost. 

7. The Farm Bulletin Board. — ^The bulletin 
board is a method of advertising now coming 
into use. It offers an excellent means of telling 
the passers-by that you have certain products 
for sale or are in want of others. It alone may 
be the means of making many a sale or saving 
much time in seeking some article wanted. It 
should be neat and not too conspicuous, yet 
where all passing may see it. It is simply a 
blackboard upon which may be written what- 
ever should appear at the time. 

8. Fair Exhibits. — Exhibiting at neighbouring 
fairs offers another way of adding to the prestige of 
the business. The man who, year after year, 
shows a given line of products comes to be recog- 
nised as a producer of that product, whether it 
be cattle, swine, poultry or some farm product. 
People know that to him they should go for this 
particular article when they need it. If his 
products are good they rightly expect to obtain 
a good article from him and as rightly expect 
to pay a good price for it. This phase of ad- 
vertising will emphasise the importance of 
holding to one line of effort. The man who 
exhibits Jersey cattle this year, Shorthorns next 
year and Ayrshires another year loses the prestige 
which a man who exhibits either one contin- 
uously is sure to gain. 



ADVERTISING 143 

9. Printed Circulars. — ^The man who de- 
velops fixed and definite lines of farming can 
afford to advertise those lines in other ways than 
those mentioned. One of the least expensive 
methods is to put before prospective customers a 
plain businesslike statement of the products 
offered for sale and the prices asked. The cost 
of a single page circular in sufficient quantities 
for the purpose is slight and a one-cent envelope 
will carry it anywhere. With this phase of 
advertising it is only a question of getting the 
names of the people whom it is desired to reach. 
If that can be done, no better nor cheaper method 
can be found. A farmer who makes a specialty 
of fine dairy butter could easily place such a 
circular in the hands of people who might want 
it. It need not be dated and should be as appli- 
cable at one time of the year as another. If it is 
desired to quote prices, blanks may be left for 
the date and price which it is allowable to add 
in writing and still send the circular with one- 
cent postage. 

1 . Newspaper or Magazine A dvertising. — Last 
in the category of possible advertising I mention 
the columns of the agricultural and other papers. 
It is placed last because it is the most expensive 
method, and if the other plans suggested are well 
followed up this one may seldom be necessary. 
Yet those who have learned how to advertise 
in this way generally report a good profit from so 



144 FARM MANAGEMENT 

doing. The chief advantage of the method is 
that it reaches unknown customers and places 
the statement before many readers at once. 
Having used the advertising column to catch 
the buyer, the printed circular should follow to 
enforce and explain what is there said. Words 
in the advertising column are expensive but cost 
little in the circular. The other methods entail 
but little expense; this one requires more care 
and judgment in its use, but may be so handled 
as to well repay the outlay involved. 




2i a 



CHAPTER XI 

RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS — BUSINESS ACCOUNTS 

IS IT worth while for the farmer to keep 
business accounts ? By his failure to do so 
he generally answers in the negative. His 
work is often heavy and tiresome and its 
character does not contribute to facility with 
the pen. He dreads writing and frequently 
thinks it not worth the while. Yet there are 
reasons why business accounts are important, 
and why it is worth while for the farmer, like 
other men, to keep them. 

REASONS FOR KEEPING ACCOUNTS 

1. To avoid disputes, misunderstandings and 
loss. Mistakes will occur and men will forget. 
A clear-cut record of the transaction is the 
shortest, surest and simplest method of correcting 
those mistakes and supplying the deficiencies of 
memory. A well-kept set of business accounts 
would have saved bitter loss to many a farmer 
of our land. 

2. To enable the farmer to know his business. 
Business men in other lines realise the impor- 
tance of this. Why should it be less important to 

145 



146 FARM MANAGEMENT 

the business farmer ? In such a complex under- 
taking as farming some Hues must pay better 
than others. The successful farmer is the one 
who studies his business and finds out these 
things. Much of this information may best 
be obtained by separate farm records, which are 
wholly distinct from the business accounts, but 
which form part of the general system. 

3. For the satisfaction and value of having an 
available record and history of the business. 
Not only is there satisfaction in being able to 
examine receipts and expenditures of past years, 
but there may be profit as well. Carefully 
studied, such records may prove reliable guides 
in planning future undertakings or enlargements. 

SYSTEMS OF ACCOUNTS 

Bookkeeping permits of endless modifications. 
To be fully satisfactory there are five requisites 
which any system should supply. 

1. It should be simple. 

2. It should show the amount of gain or loss in 

the business. 

3. It should show where the gain or loss occurs. 

4. It should furnish a record of transactions. 

5. It should guard against mistakes. 

The reasons for these requisites are evident. 
The system must be simple because the farmer 
has neither time nor inclination for elaborate 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 147 

methods. He should be able to complete his 
daily records with the minimum of effort, in a 
way which will at the same time make them of 
most value and most easily summarised for 
future use. The records should show the gain 
or loss at the end of the year, for one of the prim- 
ary objects of bookkeeping is to enable the 
owner to know what his business is doing. That 
he should know in what part of the business the 
gains or losses occur is essential because it is 
the only way in which it is possible for him to 
correct errors and improve returns. The im- 
portance of a record of transactions has already 
been mentioned. 

The first and last of these essentials are to 
some extent antagonistic. It is impossible to 
take many precautions against mistakes and at 
the same time preserve the greatest simplicity. 
A system is here outlined which will answer the 
first four of these requisites. An endeavour will 
then be made to point out ways of securing the 
fifth. 

A SINGLE ENTRY SYSTEM 

The greatest simplicity may be had with a 
single entry system. Single entry merely means 
that when we sell a load of hay to John Smith 
for $10 we charge to his account on our books 
this amount if he does not pay for it at the time, 
or enter the amount received in our cash book 



148 FARM MANAGEMENT 

if he does pay for it. With double entry we 
should also, in either case credit some account 
with the amount. This might be a separate 
account with hay or it might be a general account 
for farm crops, depending upon how much we 
had decided to separate different lines of work 
in our bookkeeping. In other words, double 
entry bookkeeping requires an equal credit for 
every debit and vice versa. 

THE INVENTORY 

An inventory of all property on hand, taken 
every year, is of the greatest importance, though 
often overlooked. Without this, requirement 
No. 2 cannot be met. It is upon the inventory 
that the answer to this question depends. The 
receipts and expenditures of the year afford 
little evidence of the profit or loss of the year's 
business; they may often be altogether mis- 
leading. By reason of the purchase of implements 
or other improved equipment the difference be- 
tween the receipts and expenditures of the year 
may be little with a substantial gain to the credit 
of the farm. Likewise a reduction in the amount 
of live stock or produce on hand may show a 
good balance in the cash account with no real 
profit from the farm. 

Matters will be simplified if the farm inventory 
is made to include all property, of whatever 
description, which the farmer may possess. 




u 

< 



O 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 149 

This will embrace money, personal accounts and 
other assets which may not commonly appear 
in an inventory proper. Under this plan the 
following classes of property will be included. 

ASSETS 

1. Real estate 

(a) Land 

(b) Improvements 

Wells, water facilities, (windmills) 

Drains 

Roads (?) 

Fences ( ?) 

Orchards ( ?) 

Growing crops ( ?) 

Himius and fertility ( ?) 

(c) Buildings 

Dwelling ( ?) 
Tenant houses 
Barns 

Other farm buildings 
Silos or other building equipment 
i. Live stock 

(a) Other than teams 

(b) Teams 

3. Implements 

4. Farm Products 

5. Notes, shares of stock, etc. 

6. Personal accounts 

7. Money in bank 

8. Cash on hand 

LIABILITIES 

1 . Mortgages 

2. Notes ^ 

3. Store-bills and personal accounts 



150 FARM IVIANAGEMENT 

Some of these items call for comment. Rea- 
sons will appear later why a better record of the 
business situation can be obtained by keeping 
the inventory of the land itself separate from 
that of the buildings and other improvements. 
In considering these improvements the point is 
quickly reached where it becomes a question 
what to consider as investment and what to 
look upon as an operating expense. Farm roads 
are seldom of sufficient importance to be con- 
sidered as an asset increasing the value of the 
farm, yet they may in some instances materially 
add to the effectiveness of the business by ex- 
pediting and cheapening many of the farm 
operations. If conditions have warranted a 
heavy outlay for this purpose it is unfair to charge 
that outlay to the business of any single year. 

Fencing is properly a farm expense, and under 
average running conditions may as well be so 
considered at once. Yet in taking hold of a 
run down farm where a heavy outlay for fencing 
may be needed all at once a portion of the cost 
may well appear in the inventory, to be charged 
off gradually, thereby giving a more just account 
of the operations of each year. 

Orchards afford a puzzling problem. There 
can be no questioning the fact that a well-grown 
apple orchard adds materially to the value of 
a farm. The same applies to a peach orchard 
in much less degree, for the peach tree is 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 151 

short-lived and uncertain. Carrying the consid- 
eration down through the Hne of bush fruits, 
strawberries, etc., to a growing crop Hke a field of 
grass or winter rye, it is hard to draw the line 
where assets shall leave off and mere expense 
begin. Then, too, it is diflScult to know what 
value to place upon a young, growing orchard. 
Probably the wisest plan is to add the yearly 
cost of care to the original cost of trees and 
planting. It is doubtless safer to take the con- 
servative ground of treating all growing crops 
as an expense. It may be preferred to carry this 
even to the orchard, aiming to utilise the land 
as it grows in such a way as to pay the expense 
of care and management. This is surely better 
than an over-valuation, though not entirely fair 
to the farm, for a good orchard will add ma- 
terially to its income-producing power and 
hence to its value. 

To place a value upon increased fertility and 
productiveness of soil is likewise a very difficult 
thing to do. A farmer may easily deceive himself 
by over-estimating this factor. Yet while seem- 
ingly too intangible to find a place in the inven- 
tory it is one of the most important factors in 
the income-producing power of the farm. With 
two farms of similar contour and equipment, one 
may be worth double the other as a business in- 
vestment, owing to difference in fertility of the 
land, and this difference may exist on land 



152 FARM MANAGEMENT 

originally the same in character. The fertility 
factor is one which is more likely to be under- 
estimated than overestimated in the consideration 
of land values, and especially in business 
transactions. 

The farm dwelling offers a somewhat peculiar 
problem, since as noted in the discussion of 
capital, except in so far as portions of it may be 
used for some farm operation like dairy work, it 
is not a part of the farm business. Conditions 
bring the farmer's home and his business to- 
gether under one investment. With other busi- 
ness men this is seldom true. The merchant or 
manufacturer does not think of including his 
home in his business inventory and asking the 
business to bear the interest and depreciation 
upon it. The maintenance of his home is a 
personal expense, which may be heavy or light 
as he chooses, and which has nothing whatever 
to do with the conduct of his business. The 
same holds true of the farmer's dwelling. If, 
therefore, the farmer is keeping a set of farm 
accounts, only, which do not include personal 
accounts, the dwelling itself should not appear 
in the inventory, neither should expenses con- 
nected therewith appear among the farm ex- 
penses. Whether he lives in a house worth one 
thousand dollars or one worth ten thousand 
dollars need have nothing to do with the outcome 
of the farm business itself but will materially 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 153 

affect the showing if the expense of maintenance 
be charged to the farm improperly. 

Few farmers will care to keep two sets of books, 
one for personal accounts and one for farm 
accounts; yet both are important. Most men 
will prefer to separate personal expenses from 
farm expenses in the same set of books. It 
may, therefore, be desirable to include the 
dwelling in the inventory as well as all other 
forms of property which the owner possesses, even 
though they may have no connection with the 
farm business. If repairs and other expenses 
connected with the dwelling are charged to the 
farm an allowance for rental is likewise due if 
a proper showing is to be made. What has 
been said regarding the farm dwelling does not 
apply to tenant houses provided for farm 
labourers, for they form a part of the regular 
farm equipment directly used in the conduct of 
the business. 

The chief reason for a distinction between 
teams and other forms of live stock is that in 
a general estimate of the business outcome the 
latter, such as cattle, swine and poultry, may 
be expected to make good the decrease in value 
of older animals by the addition and increase in 
value of young and growing ones. With teams 
this is seldom true. In estimating probable 
expenses of management teams naturally fall 
into the same category with implements, upon 



154 FARM MANAGEMENT 

which both interest and depreciation must be 
borne. 

In connection with the inventory of implements 
it should be remembered that pleasure carriages 
are not a farm investment, neither is a horse 
which may be kept merely for family driving. 
It should not be forgotten that the farm deserves 
credit for the charges connected therewith, in 
estimating the financial outcome. 

The last four items mentioned include forms 
of property which, strictly speaking, may not 
belong to the inventory, since they are neither 
stock nor equipment, but for the sake of sim- 
plicity it is well to include all assets, of what- 
ever description. 

Deducting the total liabilities from the total 
assets gives the "net worth." This is the im- 
portant item to secure. A comparison of this 
net worth from year to year shows the financial 
outcome of the business and satisfies the demand 
of requisite No. 2 heretofore suggested. 

THE INVENTORY VALUATION 

Fixing the inventory values is a matter of great 
importance, requiring good judgment and careful 
thought. Three general methods of estimating 
values present themselves. The implement may 
be inventoried at cost, at its selling value, or at 
its value for service. To value an article at 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 155 

cost is misleading, As time goes on the business 
becomes bolstered up with fictitious values 
which make it appear to have paid much better 
than it really has. 

To inventory at the selling value of an article 
may be equally unfair, particularly with im- 
plements. As soon as a tool is put to use its 
value for sale drops far out of proportion to its 
value for service. It is unfair to charge the farm 
with this large decrease, for the tool is not mer- 
chandise; it was not bought to be sold again. 
If it were worth the price paid it is still worth 
approximately the same amount, lessened by 
actual wear or injury, provided the cost of 
replacing it remains the same. If it were not 
worth the cost it should not have been bought. 

Value for service is the chief factor in de- 
termining the inventory value, though neither 
the cost nor the selling value can be entirely dis- 
regarded. In determining this value several 
factors need to be considered. First among 
these is the probable length of service of the 
article. If it may be reasonably expected to 
last for ten years, under the conditions in which 
it is used, its value will decrease 10 per cent, 
each year. The efficiency of the tool toward the 
end of its term of service needs also to be con- 
sidered. The service rendered in the tenth 
year of its use may be much less efficient than in 
the first year. If so, its value at the beginning 



156 FARM MANAGEMENT 

of that year is less than one-tenth of the original 
cost. 

The cost of replacing the article at the time 
may be an important factor in determining value. 
With recently invented machines the decrease in 
selling price from year to year is often more than 
10 per cent, of the cost. This in itself may 
entail a heavy depreciation. It is manifestly 
unfair to place a value upon an article greater 
than the cost of replacing it. It is equally unfair 
to inventory an article at less than its selling 
value. In the case of young and growing animals 
the selling value will often exceed the cost. 

The invention of a better tool for doing the 
same work may greatly affect the value of one 
already in use. Manufacturers often find this 
a serious cause of loss. Machinery valued at 
thousands of dollars, still in excellent condition 
and doing perfect work, is often thrown out 
because some new improvement enables a com- 
petitor to produce a yard of cloth at a fraction 
of a cent less than is possible by the old method. 
A similar condition may at times, though less 
frequently, make a farm implement worthless. 

RATES OF DEPRECIATION 

Rates of depreciation vary greatly with the 
character and use of the article, as will be readily 
seen from the foregoing discussion. The rate 



l/YiMy!.J-7^^ ^^^~~t/!-fH^^ 



T 






^^$:o_ 



^^ 









/9(}M _ 



y^ad'. 



^zr\. 



^d- 



50. INVENTORY CARDS 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 157 

upon buildings will be greater with those of 
cheap construction than with those which are 
well built of durable material. As a general 
guide in making estimates of the probable returns 
from a business, 5 per cent, may be allowed for 
the items of depreciation, repairs and insurance. 
This is a liberal allowance for well-constructed 
buildings, where repairs are made promptly 
when needed. With cheaper buildings, such as 
hen houses, built of cheap material and not well 
roofed, depreciation alone may amount to more 
than 5 per cent. I am told that investors in city 
property are accustomed to allow about 1| per 
cent, for depreciation, and an equal amount for 
repairs, while insurance under city conditions 
is a very small item. 

Depreciation upon teams is a heavy item; the 
more valuable the team, the heavier is the charge. 
Considering a horse at his best at five years of 
age, he may reasonably be expected to render 
good service until fifteen. In that case the de- 
preciation will be at least one-tenth of his value 
at the former age. It may be more, owing to 
the fact that at fifteen he may be less efiicient 
than at five. He may render good service until 
twenty or he may be worthless at ten. Each 
animal must be inventoried upon its merits, 
but for general estimates 10 per cent, may be 
taken as a fair average. 

With other forms of live stock, depreciation is 



158 FARM MANAGEMENT 

modified by the fact that the animal has a value 
for meat when no longer of service in other ways. 
With ordinary stock this is an important factor, 
while with high-priced animals it may be com- 
paratively unimportant. The cost of extra feed 
demanded for fattening must be deducted from 
the ultimate beef value in estimating this factor. 

Ten per cent, is a safe average to allow for 
depreciation upon tools and machinery, but the 
rate upon different implements will vary greatly. 
Factors which influence this are the character of 
the implement itself, the amount of use, the in- 
telligence displayed in its handling, especially ii 
at all complicated in its mechanism, the care it 
receives when idle, the attention given to repairs 
when needed, etc. A post maul may be worth 
as much at the end of twenty-five years as the 
day it was bought. A harness in constant use 
may be worn out at the end of five years. As 
already suggested, the decrease in selling price, 
or improvements in manufacture, may greatly 
affect the rate of depreciation. The man who 
stores his farm implements in a fence corner or 
under an apple tree, accepts a heavy charge for 
depreciation upon them instead of a lighter charge 
upon a building in which they might be housed. 

These depreciation charges cannot be escaped. 
That the farmer may keep no accounts and 
make no estimate of them does not alter the fact 
that he must foot the bill. The charges may be 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 159 

reduced by careful management but they cannot 
be avoided. Neglecting to take account of the 
items of interest and depreciation may lead 
many a man to think that he is doing a profitable 
business when he is not. 

The inventory should be taken once each year. 
The time chosen for doing it may be the one most 
convenient under the circumstances, but should 
be the same each year. January 1st is a logical 
time to close up the business of the year and has 
the advantage that there is likely to be less rush 
of other work at that time, thus giving better 
opportunity for this. On tenant farms where a 
change of tenants is likely to occur on the first 
of March or April, that will naturally prove the 
most convenient time. Some prefer July 1st as 
the date of inventory, for the reason that at that 
time the farmer is poorest, so to speak, and the 
inventory represents his real property, while on 
January 1st there is much hay and grain on hand, 
which will be consumed before the winter is over 
without giving an adequate return. The chief 
diflficulty with this season is that it is such a busy 
time that the farmer cannot then well afford the 
time for much bookkeeping. 

INVENTORY RECORDS 

The labour of recording the inventory may be 
lessened by giving some thought to the method 



160 FARM MANAGEMENT 

followed. One of the simplest plans is by the 
use of sheets, or better a blank book, having wide 
pages, permitting the use of several columns, using 
each column for a year. This obviates writing the 
name of the article each year. With five columns 
the record for five years is thus brought together 
for comparison. A sample page, illustrating 
this method is shown on the next page. 

Another convenient method is by the use of 
cards or slips of stiff paper. These may be used 
plain but are better printed with lines, which 
may be arranged to allow for ten years' record 
on each card. The regular library or business 
card size of three by five inches will be found 
convenient for the purpose. A card is used for 
each article of the inventory, the date and the 
value being added from year to year. These 
cards are less convenient in making footings but 
they have the advantage that all articles of a 
given class, such as live stock, implements, etc., 
can be kept together and arranged in alphabetical 
order at all times. New cards are added when- 
ever an article appears for the first time, and 
whenever an article disappears by sale or other- 
wise the card for it is simply dropped out. A 
summary card, showing the total amounts for 
different classes and the total footing for the 
year, is convenient for reference. Sample in- 
ventory cards are shown at Fig. 50. 

Turning to the specimen sheet, herewith. 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 161 



o 
o 


o 
© 


o 
o 


o 
© 


o 
o 


o 
o 


o 
© 




o o © 
o «o © 


o 
o 
o 




o 
o 


© 


o 




o 


OS 

>* 


1-1 «o 



CO f-< 



© 
© 


o 
© 


© 
© 


O 
© 


© 
© 




© 
© 


© 




© 
© 


© 
© 


© 
© 


o 
© 
© 


© 


© 
© 




© 
CO 


2 


© 


0< 




1— t 




© 
© 


CO 






i@ 




C/J 














© 
© 


© 
© 


© 
© 


© 

© 


o 
© 


o 
© 


© 
© 


o 
© 




© 
© 


© 

© 




© 
© 

© 


© 

00 


© 
© 


© 

CO 
CO 


© 


© 

CO 


© 




© 

CO 


© 

l-H 










ri 





















>< 
o 

H 



© 
© 


© 
© 


© 
© 


© 
© 


© 
© 


© 
© 


© 
© 


o 

© 


© 
•o 


© 
© 


© 
© 
© 


© 
© 


© 
to 

I— 1 


© 


© 


in 

CO 


© 


C5 

CO 


© 





CO ■-» - 



© © © © 

© o © © 

o' o © © 

© o © © 

©_^ «o ©<_ «o 

© I— I » 

€©■ 5 2 




162 FARM MANAGEMENT 

which for the sake of illustration is made to in- 
clude different classes of items, a few comments 
may be made. The value placed upon the 
water system shows a gradual depreciation 
throughout the whole time represented. The 
dairy barn shows a depreciation until the year 
1905, when repairs bring the value higher than 
the year before. The cow Rhoda appears as 
a young animal, increasing in value until 1904, 
then begins to decrease. Daisy drops out in 
1904, having been sold. The mowing machine 
met with an accident in 1903 which reduced its 
value more than the regular depreciation. The 
farm wagon is given a regular 10 per cent, de- 
preciation upon the previous year's inventory. 
A depreciation of about twenty per cent, is 
allowed upon the harness. Upon the post maul 
there is no depreciation. The hay loader ap- 
pears for the first time in 1904, the year it was 
bought. Adding at the left the date of birth of 
an animal or the date of purchase of an imple- 
ment, and its cost, affords a convenient reference 
for showing age or length of service and total 
depreciation. 

THE CASH BOOK 

Next to the inventory in importance comes 
the cash book. This will furnish a record of 
transactions. Modifications may be introduced 
which will make it fairly convenient for reference. 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 163 

All cash transactions go into the cash book» 
Doing a cash business is one of the most im- 
portant ways of simplifying the bookkeeping. 
The moment the time element is introduced the 
problem becomes complicated, for then there 
must be a different record made in another 
place. 

The primary object of the cash book is to 
show the money paid out and the money taken 
in. It also helps to guard against mistakes. 

The difference, or balance, between the cash 
received and the cash paid side should always 
agree with the actual cash on hand. By fre- 
quently finding this balance without entering it 
in the book, anything which has been forgotten 
is likely to be brought to mind. If there is more 
money than the book calls for, something which 
has been received has not been entered. If there 
is too little money something paid out has been 
forgotten. 

In its simplest form the cash book consists of 
but two columns, one for cash received, or 
"Cash Dr.,'* as it is called, the other for cash 
paid, or "Cash Cr.," together with the items 
for which the cash was received or paid. These 
columns and entries may both be on one page 
or on opposite pages, as preferred. While these 
two primary columns serve the main purpose 
and are the important elements, future reference 
may be simplified and the record made more 



164 FARM MANAGEMENT 

complete by making the cash book a little more 
complex. It is desirable to be able to know 
quickly the amount paid out or taken in from 
different lines of the business. The cash book 
can be made to show this readily by the addition 
of other columns. These extra columns have 
no effect whatever on the main columns which 
show the whole amount of money taken in and 
paid out. They are merely extras, devoted to 
special parts of the business, and into them are 
dropped items belonging to the particular class, 
for convenience in footing or reference. The 
columns can be given any heading desired, 
according to the nature of the business or the 
lines which the owner wishes especially to watch. 
On a general farm it may be desirable to know 
how much money has been received for dairy 
products, for swine, poultry, fruit or potatoes. 
A column may therefore be devoted to any one 
or each of these. In the same way the farmer 
may wish to know how much he has paid out 
for labour, feed, or fertiliser, and so make a 
column on the cash paid side for these. These 
items can all be obtained from the two main 
columns, to be sure, by looking these columns 
through and singling them out. The special 
columns merely serve to throw all items of a 
given class together, where they may be quickly 
seen and their totals known. The specimen 
pages shown herewith will make clear the idea. 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 165 



> 
u 

(XI 





ooooooooooooo 

i-iiOO«000000»OM»0»C 




1-1 r-H © >— 1 ©< 1— 1 00 
I— 1 r— 1 


00 

CO 


3 
, o 

o 


© © 
to «o 


© 
© 


(N t» 


© 

I-H 


o 

u 


© © © 

o © © 


o 
© 


o w 

PH PH 


00 


k. 

o 


© © 50 
»0 © CO 


00 


©< © CO 

I-H 


»iO 


'5 


© © © © 
»o © © »o 


© 
© 




o 




Balance 
10 doz. Eggs @ 25c. 
2 bu. Potatoes @ 50c. 
50 lbs. Butter @ 25c. 
50 bbls. Apples @ $2 
20 doz. Eggs @ 25c., 5 hens @ $1 
100 lbs. Butter @ 25c. 
1 Grade Calf 
400 bu. Potatoes @ 45c. 
Hauling grain for Smith 
12 doz. Eggs @ 28c. 
30 lbs. Butter @ 25c. 
150 lbs. Pork @ 5c. 


1905 
October 


rHO» »0«0©(N «C©"«J<00© 

i-i r-H «-H o* ©* e< 00 





166 



FARM MANAGEMENT 





O 


>r5©0000000»000«0 

©<k:)OOOo»o«ocoi>o»o«o 










»0«>©Oe<0»00<CO »Or-CTf< 

»o o< ©< o o< 


CO 


1— • 
00 
CO 






!3 
, O 


o o o 
o o «o 


«5 






O O CO 

«o o 
ex 








1 

S 

C 


o o 

O "5 


o 






o ^ 


s 








o o o 
o »o o 


o 






e< e< "o 






■.Eft 


»o o o >o 


1® 
|o 




»o o o 


CO 




<J 




1 bbl. Flour, W. & S. 

Suit clothes, Harry 

First Nat. Bank, deposit 

Disc harrow. Weed & Smith 

1 ton Wheat bran, R. G. White 

First Nat. Bank, deposit 

20 lbs. Oatmeal ($1)100 lbs sugar 4.50 

Shoeing team ($2) repairing wagon .50 

Trip to State Fair 

5 gallons Kerosene 

Delos Rockwell, wages, October 

Hand saw 

Waldo & Soper on % 

Balance* 

* Usually written in red ink 






O 











RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 167 

In this case it is assumed that the owner de- 
sires to know how much is received from the 
dairy, from poultry and from money crops which 
are sold directly from the farm. Columns are 
therefore allowed for these classes. A miscel- 
laneous column is needed for the unclassified 
items which are sure to appear. Under cash 
paid it is decided to provide a column for living 
or family expenses and another for farm ex- 
penses. This latter column includes all out and 
out expenses. The column headed investment 
is merely for convenience in making up the in- 
ventory at the end of the year. Items which 
should be added to the inventory are thus where 
they will not be overlooked. On other farms a 
column devoted to fruit, potatoes, hay, or swine 
might be desirable. If swine are kept chiefly as 
an adjunct to the dairy, to consume the skim 
milk, the item for pork might appear in the dairy 
column rather than in the miscellaneous column. 

The balance is obtained from the columns of 
totals, in the same way as though the other col- 
umns were not there. These main columns are 
exactly the same as in the ordinary cash book. 
They should be added up often to determine if 
the balance between them agrees with the money 
on hand, but the footings need only be entered 
at the end of the month. The sum of the footings 
of these incidental columns should then equal 
the footing of the main column of each page. 



168 FARM MANAGEMENT 

This serves as a check to show that everything 
which ought to appear in the different columns 
has gone into them. 

On the cash paid side, columns for help, feed 
and fertiliser might be desired in many cases. 
In others it may be preferred to make these 
columns correspond to those on the cash received 
page, giving a column to the dairy, poultry, 
swine, etc. The miscellaneous column may 
be omitted in both cases, but in that event the 
sum of the footings of these incidental columns 
will not equal the footing of the last column and 
mistakes in entering are not so easily detected. 

By inserting the name of the party of whom 
the article was bought, in connection with the 
entry, the record is made more complete, 
affording better evidence of payment in case a 
second bill should be presented. Following the 
entry of one ton of wheat bran, bought October 
15th, by the name R. G. White, makes the record 
much more valuable in case of future dispute. 
A check is always preferable in paying such items 
for that serves as a receipt when cancelled and 
returned to the party who drew it. In that case, 
however, the record does not appear in the cash 
book, unless money in the bank is treated as 
cash, which is less convenient than to treat it as 
an account. The check book stub then fur- 
nishes the record as well as the cancelled check 
itself. 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 169 

THE BANK ACCOUNT 

Maintaining a bank account affords im- 
portant advantages, among which are the 
following. 

1. Convenience and lack of expense in making 
payments. With a check, payment at a dis- 
tance is as easily made as in person, and usually 
without expense. In a few cities exchange is 
charged on checks from other places, particularly 
from local banks in small places, but usually any 
business firm will accept a check at its face value. 
In this respect an account with a bank in a city 
of some size is of advantage. There is nothing 
to prevent this, for banking can be easily done 
by mail. Another point of convenience in pay- 
ment by check is that all trouble in making 
change is avoided, a difficulty which frequently 
occurs in personal money transactions. 

2. Safety of remittance by mail. A check 
being drawn in favour of the party for whom it is 
intended must bear his endorsement before it 
can be collected, hence if lost or stolen in transit 
it is valueless to anyone else and the money still 
remains in the bank to the credit of the sender. 

3. Payment by check insures a receipt for the 
money. The indorsement of the receiver is an 
acknowledgement of the receipt of the amount 
and is sufficient evidence of the fact in the 
absence of any other receipt. 



170 FARM MANAGEMENT 

4. The check book stub furnishes a record of 
the transaction. These stubs should be care- 
fully kept and will be found very convenient in 
showing whether and when a bill has been paid, 
the cost of an article, etc. 

5. Payment by check is a businesslike way 
of doing things. It shows that the party is 
accustomed to business methods and thereby 
creates a favourable impression. 

6. Doing business with a bank gives one a 
commercial standing, and affords a convenient 
source of reference to parties with whom he is 
dealing. 

A ledger account with the bank is not needed 
in this simple system of single entry book- 
keeping. The check book stubs furnish a suflS- 
cient record. A ledger account serves as a check 
against mistakes on these stubs, but such a 
check is also furnished by the pass book kept 
by the bank. 

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS 

The cash book and check book are suflScient 
for all cash transactions in single entry book- 
keeping, but personal accounts add trouble. 
Neither of these books affords a place for trans- 
actions in which time is involved. The best way 
to simplify bookkeeping is to do a cash business. 
Just so soon as an account becomes necessary 
the bookkeeping problem is complicated. The 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 171 

business man keeps a day book and ledger for 
these accounts. The transactions as they occur 
are entered in the day book and from there they 
are posted to their respective accounts in the 
ledger. 

THE EXTENDED LEDGER 

The farmer can simplify things in his method 
of bookkeeping. Two ways are open in which 
this can be conveniently done. The first plan 
is by what may be termed an extended ledger. 
In this way one book is made to serve the pur- 
pose of both a day book and ledger. Make 
the ledger a book of original entry and include 
with the entry all items and necessary facts. 
This makes the ledger more complex than when 
a separate day book is kept but the one entry is 
simpler than the two needed in that case. Give 
a separate page to each account. For accounts 
which are likely to be merely temporary, part of 
a page will answer, and for those which are likely 
to be large several blank pages may be left. 
To the business man, with long and numerous 
accounts this plan would be objectionable because 
occupying too much room and making the ledger 
too bulky, but with the farmer this objection does 
not hold. The advantage of this plan is that 
a single entry completes the record, except when 
cash is paid or received, and there is no chance 
for accounts to remain unposted, as they often 



172 FARM MANAGEMENT 

do in the other system. Every account is ready 
for quick inspection, and for balance or settle- 
ment at any time, and the entries are all together. 
The sample page 173 will make the plan clear. 

SEPARATE SLIPS 

A second plan of simplifying personal accounts 
is to adopt the same plan of entry but keep them 
on separate cards or slips instead of on separate 
pages in the ledger. This possesses the same 
advantages as the other method, with the ad- 
ditional one that whenever an account is closed 
those slips are laid aside and only the accounts 
which are actually open need be kept in hand. 
Additional slips or cards will extend the account 
as much as needed and all the items are thus 
kept together. There is no waste of ledger 
space nor trouble in estimating how many pages 
a given account is likely to need, with transfers to 
another part of the book when those pages are 
filled. Practically these same advantages may 
be secured by means of the loose leaf ledger 
now in common use; this may be more con- 
venient and avoids the danger of loss or mis- 
placement of a loose slip. 

MERITS OF THE SYSTEM 

The single entry system outlined in the fore- 
going pages is believed to be as simple and 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 173 



WALDO & SOPER 



Dr. 



Cr. 



October! 1 



10 

15 

19 
21 

27 
31 



By 2 Plow-points @ 40c. 

" 1 Scythe and snath 

" 200 lbs. Oil-meal @ $150 
To 20 lbs Butter @ 25c. 
By 1 bbl. Salt 

" 25 lbs. lOd. Nails @ 3c. 

" 2 gals. Paint @ $1.50 
To 2 bu. Potatoes @ 50c. 

" 1 bu. Apples 
By 1 Pickaxe 
To Cash in full of % 



11 



00 



00 
50 

65 
15 



11 



80 
50 
00 

25 

75 
00 



85 



15 



174 FARM MANAGEMENT 

businesslike as any plan available. Each man 
may introduce modifications to suit his own tastes 
or requirements but the general plan is one which 
the author can fully recommend. After years 
of experience in keeping personal and farm 
accounts he believes this is the simplest system 
available and one which will best meet the needs 
of the average farm business. 

It is now proper to inquire how far this method 
answers the requisites mentioned at the beginning 
as desirable in a bookkeeping system. It meets 
the demands of requirements Nos. 1, 2, and 4 
fully. It is simple, it shows the gain or loss at 
the end of the year, and it furnishes a record of 
all transactions. It does not meet requirements 
Nos. 3 and 5. It does not show where gains and 
losses occur and it affords no checks against 
mistakes. The latter requirement is met only 
by double entry bookkeeping, at the sacrifice 
of simpHcity. The former will be discussed later. 

DOUBLE ENTRY 

This work is not intended as a manual of book- 
keeping; therefore a full exposition of the 
methods of double entry bookkeeping cannot be 
given. A comparison between the two systems, 
with an explanation of the principal methods 
used in each, is, however, in place. The chief 
advantage of double over single entry book- 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 175 

keeping, as already suggested, is in guarding 
against mistakes. It may also help to show 
where gains and losses occur, because it calls 
for more accounts, but it does not of itself answer 
this question. In return for these advantages 
it is necessary to sacrifice requisite No. 1. It is 
less simple and entails more work. There must 
be a ledger account and two ledger entries for 
every transaction, except that in the case of cash 
transactions a number of items are combined on 
the cash side of the entry by posting the footings 
for a given time in the cash account of the ledger 
instead of entering each separate item. A plan 
for combining other cash transactions in posting 
will be explained later. 

THE CASH BOOK 

The cash book follows the same general plan 
as that suggested for single entry. The division 
columns, if used, should correspond with ac- 
counts in the ledger, and so far as possible should 
be the ones which demand most frequent entries. 
The column for "investments" will not be 
needed in double entry for the ledger accounts 
will show all articles purchased during the year 
which should be added to the inventory. A 
column will be needed, which may be headed 
*' ledger," into which shall be entered items 
which are to be posted directly to their separate 



176 



FARM MANAGEIVIENT 



en 







o o o 


o 


o 




o 




o 


o 


© o 


© 


© 


loll 


i 


5 


•-I «o o 


»o 


o 




o 




o 


© 


«0 CO 


«o 


•o 1© 


Q 




























O 0< rH 


o* 


o 




o 




o 


o 


O* CO 


t- 


r^ 


I"—) 




H 


r— c 




o 








-* 


CO 








00 
CO 






















© 




© 


© 






















«Q 




to 


© 




















































II 




TS 


















o< 




r^ 


© 




H 




























>J 






























O 




^ 










© 








© 




a 


o 




° 










© 








© 


























^ 




2 


r— I 




o 










o 








I-H 




o 






o 

I— 1 










00 

I-H 








00 






O 








o 








CD 




1© 






«o 








© 








CO 




|oo 






























o< 








o 








CO 






»c 




o 










l-H 














I-H 




b 
































o 










o 






© 




© 








«o 










© 






CO 




© 


































(V 










© 






r- 




© 






rH 










■* 










© 












»« 


«5 


W5 


»o 
















• 




«s- 


«*• 




F— 1 




M 














® 

05 

y 












B 
m 

C; 00 


6 


® 

o 








® 


® 


^ 


(2) 
S3 


<M 


05 

0; 
O 




u 


oi 






to 2 
to <a 


y 




& 
^ 


® 

C 
y 


^ 


o 


c3 


U) 05 


3 
X3 


© 

«-o 

1— 1 






Balan 
doz. 
bu. p 


O 


en 

o 


N 

o 
-a 

o 


en 

O 
O 


1 gra 
00 bu. 

nciden 


3 N 
c3 O 


oi 
© 


S 






r-l 0< 


»o 


»o 


©< 








■* "^ 


'-' 


CO 


CO 






O . 


^ 


^ 


^ 




^ 




s. 


^ 


^ 


^ 






H ' 
























h 


























J 


























«*J 


l-H (X 


»o 


o 


o 




o» 




o © 


f 


00 


© 




So 
















f-i o< 


©« 


(M 


CO 


11 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 177 








«oooooo o oo»coo»o 


»0 i-H 






»o o< ©< o «^< 




1—1 
CO 
CO 




1 


O O O O JO 


lO 




O O O r^ Tji 






1 

a 
■a 

'o 

c 


i 


o 




00 


00 




So, 


o o o 

o »o o 


o 






05 




c a 


»o O O JO 


o 
o 




lO «0 «5 


00 






o8 ;3 '^ tn O ,^ 

:g-5-^ g *-->o "i ^r5 '^^ Su 

"" c/2 t>>H 1^ '-' w^ <x cfi H »o O •-< K 

-^ 

m 




(b 






11 











178 FARM MANAGEMENT 

accounts in the ledger, no column being pro- 
vided for them. Only the footings of the other 
columns at the end of the month are posted. 
This saves much time for it does away with a 
large number of entries. 

In the specimen pages which are shown 
herewith, it is assumed that the lines of the 
business from which returns are desired to be 
readily seen are dairy, poultry and farm crops, 
a column being provided for each. At the end 
of the month the dairy account in the ledger is 
credited with $60, the poultry account with 
$15.86 and the farm crops account with $281, 
instead of making the nine separate entries under 
the dates at which the transactions occur. For 
those items in the "Ledger" column, which 
must be entered separately, the italicised 
word at the beginning of the entry shows the 
account to which they are to be posted. In 
order to keep the ledger balanced, cash must be 
charged with the sum of all these items, that is 
with the total amount taken in during the 
month. 

On the cash paid side of the cash book it is 
assumed that a column will be desirable for 
living expenses. This is supposing that the 
farmer is not to keep his farm accounts separate 
from his personal accounts, as most farmers do 
not. The second column provides for "Farm 
Expense" which will include things which are 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 179 

strictly expenses, such as help, feed, etc. Things 
like implements or stock, which are in the nature 
of an investment, should not be entered here. 
In this case it is assumed that the account for 
"Living Expense" shall include only the actual 
cost of living, another column being provided for 
other incidentals. These two may be combined 
in one column under the heading of personal or 
incidental expense if it is not desired to know the 
actual cost of the living expenses. As on the 
other page italicised words show the account 
to which the separate items are to be posted. 
The titles of these columns should vary with 
the nature of the business. 

THE DAY BOOK AND JOURNAL 

A day book and journal, or a combination of 
the two are necessary in double entry book- 
keeping. The combination daybook-journal, in 
which one book serves for both entries, is simpler. 
It must include every item which is not a cash 
transaction. In single entry bookkeeping when 
the farmer buys a plow and gives his check in 
payment, the entry which he makes on the stub 
of his check book completes the record, in the 
simple system outlined in previous pages. In 
double entry bookkeeping there must be, in 
addition to this entry on the stub of the check 
book, a daybook- journal entry and two ledger 



180 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



OCTOBER 1 



Dr. 



Cr. 



First Nat. Bank 

To Live stock 
Check for Guernsey bull 

Monarch, rec'd and de- 
posited 
Farm Expense 
Implements, 

To Waldo & Soper 

2 plow-points (.80). scythe 

and snath ($1.50) 

8 

Implements 

To First Nat. Bank 
Farmer's Handy wagon, 
check No. 156 

10 

Farm Expense 

To Waldo & Soper 
200 lbs Oil-meal @ $1.50 
12 
Farm Expense 

To First Nat. Bank 
Taxes for 1905 $48.27 
Less timber rebate 12.15 



$36.12 
Less 5% 1.80 



75 


00 
80 


75 


1 


50 


2 


35 


00 


35 


3 


00 


3 


34 


32 


34 


149 


62 


149 



00 



30 



00 



00 



32 



62 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 181 



OCTOBER 12 



1905 



Dr. 



Cr. 



Waldo & Soper 
To Dairy % 
20 lbs. Butter @ 25c. on% 
15 
Farm Expense 

To Waldo & Soper 
Ibbl. Salt, ($1.25), 25 lbs. 
lOd. nails @ 3c. ($.75) 
18 
Bills Receivable 
To Live stock 
Note of R. M. Burk, 6 mo. 
in payment for horse. Bill, 
sold to-day 
19 
Farm Expense 

To Waldo & Soper 
2 gals. Paint @ $1.50 
21 
Waldo & Soper 

To Farm Crops 
2 bu. Potatoes @ 50c. ($1) 
1 bu. Apples 50c. 
25 
Real Estate 

To First Nat. Bank 
Repainting barn, ck. 158 
27 
Implements 

To Waldo & Soper 
1 pickaxe 



150 



00 



00 



00 



00 



50 



45 



207 



00 



85 



35 



150 



00 



00 



00 



00 



50 



00 



85 



207 35 



45 



182 FARM MANAGEMENT 

entries. The implement account must be 
charged and the bank credited with the amount. 

Sample pages of the daybook-journal are 
shown at pages 180 and 181. The first part of 
each entry is the journal entry, giving the ledger 
accounts to which the transaction must be 
posted, with the amounts to be charged or 
credited to each. The second part of the entry 
is merely to explain the transaction, and may be 
as full or as brief as circumstances demand. 
This part takes the place of a separate day book 
entry. Fewer words will suffice to make the 
explanation here than in a separate entry in 
another book. 

These pages serve to illustrate well the state- 
ment elsewhere made that doing a cash business 
is one of the best ways to simplify bookkeeping. 
Seven transactions with Waldo & Soper, the 
village storekeepers, appear, involving fifteen 
separate entries in the ledger. Had these been 
cash transactions all but the two in which imple- 
ments were purchased would have fallen in one 
of the columns provided in the cash book and 
would have been posted with the footings of these 
columns at the end of the month, thus saving 
the labour of thirteen ledger entries. The 
original cash book entries would also have 
called for less writing than these daybook- 
journal entries. 

Most of the items shown are self-explanatory. 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 183 

The first one might appear as two separate items 
in the cash book with equal propriety, crediting 
*' Live stock" with the amount received and 
charging the bank with the amount deposited. 
Here one entry serves to explain the two trans- 
actions. The cost of repainting the barn is 
charged to "Real Estate" because this is to add 
to the inventory value of the building when the 
next inventory is taken. It is not an expense 
which should be borne by a single year. 

THE LEDGER 

The name double entry comes from the fact 
that there are two entries in the ledger for each 
transaction, though, as already suggested, a 
number of items belonging on the same side of a 
given account may be combined in one entry. 
As a result of these two entries for each trans- 
action, one being on the debit side and the other 
on the credit side, the two sides of the entire 
ledger must always foot up to the same amount. 
This is termed the "trial balance," and is one of 
the chief checks against mistakes. If in the 
transaction shown in the daybook- journal in 
which 200 pounds of oil meal were bought of 
Waldo & Soper on account, there had been a 
failure to enter this item on the debit side of the 
Farm Expense account, that side of the ledger 
would fall three dollars short when the sums of 



184 FARM MANAGEMENT 

all the debits and credits in the ledger were 
foundo The mistake would therefore need to 
be found before the two sides would balance. 
With single entry there would be nothing to 
bring out the mistake, for there would be nothing 
to call the account in question, though if the mis- 
take had been made on the other side of the 
entry, the disagreement with Waldo & Soper's 
account at time of settlement would be likely to 
bring it out. 

It would complicate matters too much to 
show the ledger accounts for each transaction 
indicated in the specimen pages of the cash book 
and daybook-journal, but a few of them may 
be explained. The cash account in the ledger 
might appear somewhat as shown in the accom- 
panying illustration. First on the debit side 
would appear the amount of cash on hand 
at the time when the last inventory was taken 
and the books balanced for the year. Then 
there would appear on the same side the total 
amounts of cash received during each month 
since that time. On the opposite side would 
appear the total amounts paid out during each 
month, these items being taken from the footings 
in the cash book each month. The difference 
between the two sides October 1 must be $15.10, 
the same as shown by the cash book. Wlien 
balanced at the end of October the total amount 
of cash received during the month, which is 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 185 



U 



t^ 


«0 


o 


(V 


00 


»o 


CO 


"ft" 


»f5 


o 


0* 


CO 


-^ 


t- 


o< 


"* 


CO 


CO 


OS 


o« 


CO 


»o 


CD 


lO 


i^ 


o 


o* 


■^ 


o 


o< 


GO 


00 


00 


CO 


»o 


CO 


Oi 




t- 


>o 


1—1 






r-t 




•* 




o< 


I-H 


00 



J_l 


nn 


^_l 


o 


^ 


o 


^_l 


^_ 


o 


^_ 


CO 


o< 


GO 


CO 


00 


CO 


CO 


CO 


CO 


CO 



i-5fiH^<fJ,^t-sHs<lcr!0 



m 


>o 


-t< 


>o 


o 


CO 


o 


o 


'O 


a» 


CO 


CO 


i> 


■>* 


©< 


rH 


»o 


Oi 


o 


t- 


■* 


00 


»o 


CO 


CO 


»10 


CO 


on 


rj* 


«:> 


00 


(V 


CO 


■<*< 


o* 


o> 


f^ 


»o 


1^ 


o* 


00 


o 


CO 


CO 




I— 1 




1—t 


©< 




■* 




©< 


l-H 


00 



u 
d 

PQ 



r-l 


1—1 


cn 


,_, 


o 


1—1 


o 


I— 1 


^ 


o 


I—I 




CO 


e< 


CO 


GO 


CO 


GO 


CO 


CO 


CO 


CO 






4 ^ i^S-^^"SH-d 



I HO FARM MANAGEMENT 

$300.80, Uio footing of oiir total column on the 
crash rcccivccJ side, less the }>ahirjc(; at tlic bc- 
f^innin^ of the iiiontli, is entered on tlic cJe}>tor 
side; of the ledger account. The total amcjunt 
paid out (]ur'iu}r tlie month, $352.25, is entered 
on llie ereditor side. 

Tlie ied^^er nceount for *'Inc;iclentals'* must 
tlieii l)c; erediled with $2.50; that for "Swine" 
with $7.50; *'l);.iry" with $00; "Poultry*' with 
$15. HO, ;i,nd "F.irni (!n)j)s" witli $281; the sum 
of whictli must just ecjual the $300.80 e}iar<(ed to 
"Cash." Ercmi the credit side of the cash })ook 
the items char^c^d to "First National Bank." 
"Implemerils," "W.'.Jdo S^ So[)er," "Living' 
Expense," "F.'irrri lOxpcnse" and " Jneidenlals." 
must just ecjual the $352.25 with which cash is 
credited. 

'i'hese entries assumes separate ledp^er accounts 
for liiiplcments, Swine, D.-iiry, and Poultry, for 
convenience in knowin<r the total amounts 
ch;ir^ed and credited to these lines of work. 
These mJiy he comhined with other accounts if 
preferred. Pookkeepin^ is wonderfully ad- 
jiist;i,l)lc; arid ni.ty he niodified in many ways, to 
suit the fjincy of the bookkeeper. 

The ledger account with First National Bank 
should show the same ]);d.'ince at the beginning 
and end of the month as that shown by the 
cluck book stubs ;it the corresponding time. 
The account will be charged with the two 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 187 

deposits sliowii in tlio cnsli book and the one 
shown in the daybook- jonrnal. It will be civdited 
with the cliecks (h'avvn, which in this case arc all 
entered in the daybook-jonrnal, since no money 
has been drawn out directly. J5ills Receivable 
is tlie common term <^iven to the account whicli 
includes all iioles due the firm, as distinguished 
from simple personal accounts. 

The system of double entry represents too 
much work for most farmers to follow. Unless 
the business assumes larger proportions than is 
generally the ease, or takes on more of a com- 
mercial character for any reason, the simpler 
plan of single entry will answer all purposes au<l 
give excellent satisfaction. Yet for one who 
has a taste for such things, a simplified double 
entry system, similar to that here suggested, will 
afford great satisfaction in enabling liim to study 
his business carefully, and may well repay the 
extra labour involved. 

FARM RECORDS 

Requisite No. 8 has not yet been fully satisfied. 
The system just outlined does not show as well 
as it should be shown where gains and losses 
occur. Double entry can be made to do this 
but it involves nmch work and many puzzling 
questions. '^Fo attempt to charge each croj) with 
the fertiliser, seed, labour and other expense 



188 FARM MANAGEMENT 

put upon it, or to charge and credit the dairy or 
poultry with all the items connected therewith, 
complicates matters altogether too much if done 
in connection with the business accounts kept 
in the regular set of books. This can be best 
and most easily done by separate farm records. 
These may be kept in any convenient way, but 
the simpler the better. A book for the purpose, 
or separate sheets or cards, may be used. It is 
a very simple matter to keep an account with a 
field of potatoes or hay if it is only necessary to 
charge the items of cost as they occur and credit 
the field with what it produces. If at the same 
time the seed, the time, and the other expenses 
must be credited to the proper account as a part 
of the regular double entry bookkeeping it 
becomes a very different matter. 

TIME CARDS 

Time cards, showing how the time has been 
employed, are very useful in determining sources 
of profit and loss. They should show the work 
of both men and teams. If properly kept these 
time cards will make it possible to determine the 
cost of any crop with a fair degree of accuracy, 
even if no special account with the crop has been 
kept. They will also serve as a record of opera- 
tions, showing when things have been done. At 
times they may be of great value for this purpose 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 189 

alone. The team records will also show the per 
cent, of efficiency of team work, and its conse- 
quent cost per hour. They are worthy of careful 
study with this point in view. They may be the 
means of reducing the number of horses kept 
or of readjusting the work in such way as to 
keep the ones on hand more fully employed. 

The specimen schedule shown herewith, 
will illustrate the manner of keeping the 
record. At the end of the month the time given 
to any particular work may be placed in a column 
of footmgs at the end so that the total amount 
for the year can be quickly obtained. For these 
purposes it will be more convenient if one sheet 
is made to include the time of all men employed, 
since then only that one need be consulted to 
determine the time employed on a given crop or 
phase of the work. If a sheet for each man is 
kept they will serve as a record of lost time or 
other irregularities. 

Time cards for the team-work are kept in the 
same way, but there is no call for a separate 
sheet for each team unless there should chance 
to be a team kept for some special purpose, a 
record of which might be desirable. The record 
may be kept in terms of one horse or of a double 
team, as may be thought most convenient. In 
the latter case, when one horse is used only half 
the number of hours it was employed would be 
entered in the record. 



190 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



o 

o 



Q 
Pi 
< 
u 

S 



n 




















o« 




- 




o 




HM 


HN 


l-H 












o> 


1— < 


H« 


H:« 


I— < 












00 • 


l-H 


HC« 


i-r« 


I-H 












t- 


1— 1 


HP« 


HN 


r-l 




o» 








e 


rH 


l-H 


<» 


l-H 








eo 


« 


■n 


l-H 


Hr« 


HN 


F-H 




CO 








•* 


o« 


HM 


-*« 


l-H 


t^ 








•n 




HN 


HP« 


1-H 












oa 


f— ( 


HP« 


-r« 


rH 












x • 


I-H 


HN 


r*< 


l-H 













-o -o 



J3 



cd 



o 



o 






o o £ e 



- .2 -S 



a. 
a, 
< 



Ph 



o o 



i3 
o 



O t/1 
P4 S 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 191 

PRODUCTION RECORDS 

It is unnecessary to dwell upon the importance 
of production records. Much of the success of 
an undertaking will depend upon weeding out 
unproductive animals, unproductive lines of 
effort and unproductive crops. Unproductive 
fields must be brought up to a state of fertility 
which will make them pay. It is in finding out 
these things that one can answer the question of 
requisite No. 3. How to get this information in 
the simplest manner is the problem to be con- 
sidered in keeping the farm records. 

DAIRY RECORDS 

It is important to keep an account with the 
dairy as a whole. Some men might be surprised 
at the result of this on their own farms. This 
can best be done in a little account entirely 
separate from the business records. All feed 
bought for the dairy should be charged. Feed 
produced on the farm and consumed by the 
dairy should also be estimated, or better weighed, 
and charged. The time consumed in caring 
for the cattle, as shown by the time cards, should 
also be charged. It would not be amiss to 
charge stable rental, or the depreciation, in- 
surance and repairs on the dairy barn. These 
are expenses which really belong to the dairy. 



192 FARM MANAGEMENT 

Veterinary services, if any, should also be 
charged. 

The cash book will show the cash returns. 
Whenever products are sold for other than cash 
they should be credited separately as the trans- 
actions occur. All stock sold and increase in 
the inventory, if any, should be included among 
the credits. Dairy products consumed in the 
family should not be overlooked and should 
appear among the credits. The dairy should 
also receive credit for the skim-milk fed to pigs 
or poultry. Credit should likewise be given 
for the manure produced, since this is one of the 
most important resources from the dairy in 
ordinary farming. 

MILK RECORDS 

Milk records are of first importance to the 
dairyman. He needs to know what individual 
cows are doing. The first requisite is a con- 
venient set of scales, with pails brought to a 
uniform weight, so that the scales may be set at 
zero when the empty pail is on them. For this 
purpose scales graduated to pounds and tenths of 
pounds are more convenient than those register- 
ing pounds and ounces. The footings are then 
more easily made. If it is felt that weighing 
every milking involves too much work, weighing 
the milk for one day in each week will give a 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 193 

fairly accurate idea of what each animal is 
doing. 

Blanks should be provided upon which to 
enter the record. If the weighings are to be 
but once a week these may be easily ruled off 
with a pen, but for more frequent weighings the 
printed blanks designed for the purpose will be 
found much more convenient. 

Butter-fat tests are essential in all forms of 
dairying where butter or cream are the products 
sought. Indeed progressive milkmen are no 
longer content with knowing merely that they 
are offering an honest quart of milk. They 
want to know its quality also. In some instances 
milk is being "standardised," that is, brought 
to a uniform degree of butter-fat content before 
being sold. In all these cases it is important 
not only to know the amount of milk which a 
cow gives during the year but the amount of 
butter-fat which it contains. Methods of 
making these tests are well described in 
experiment station bulletins and other works 
dealing with the subject and need not be 
repeated here. Suffice it to say that a com- 
posite sample, obtained by mixing samples 
from several different milkings is always a 
safer guide than a sample taken from a single 
milking. Experience shows that the fat con- 
tent of a given cow's milk is subject to marked 
fluctuations. 



194 FARM MANAGEMENT 

SWINE RECORDS 

On most farms swine are kept chiefly as an 
adjunct to the dairy. In some cases it may 
seem preferable to treat them merely as part 
of the dairy, charging and crediting all ex- 
penses and receipts connected therewith directly 
to the dairy. Items of feed, care, and other 
expenses should be charged and returns credited 
in the same manner as suggested for the dairy. 

Feeding records will also prove useful in 
connection with swine. Note the amount of 
feed consumed from month to month. Catch 
and weigh an average pig and learn how much 
he has gained in weight. Which month gives 
most gain ? What is the margin of profit when 
the litter is sold ? Such questions as these may 
be easily answered to your own satisfaction by 
a little forethought, and with very little extra 
trouble or record keeping. Let the records be 
simple but be sure to put them in some shape 
where they will be available for future reference 
when wanted. 

POULTRY RECORDS 

Few farmers, unless it be special poultry farm- 
ers, will care to keep individual records with trap- 
nests, but a record can be easily kept with the 
poultry as a whole. In a simple, separate ac- 
count kept as suggested, the feed consumed can 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 195 

be charged by giving a little care to knowing the 
amount used. The time cards should show the 
amount of time consumed and other expenses 
can be noted as they occur. The account should 
be credited with all eggs and fowls used in the 
family as well as those sold. 

CROP RECORDS 

By this simple plan of little separate accounts 
having no connection with the regular busi- 
ness accounts, it is easy to keep an account 
with individual crops. Charge to the crop the 
seed and manure or fertiliser used, also a fair 
amount for rent of land. The time can be taken 
from the time cards if they are properly kept. 
It will afford satisfactory and useful information 
if this is separated in such a way as to show the 
time consumed in the different phases of the 
work, such as plowing, fitting, planting, tillage, 
harvesting, etc. When harvested the crop is 
credited with the yield produced. Such a record 
of the cost and returns from different crops for 
a series of years would prove a most valuable 
guide to any farmer and to others who might 
seek his advice. 

FAMILY CONSUMPTION RECORDS 

Few farmers know much of what it costs them 
to live. It is not easy to record every pint of 



196 FARM MANAGEMENT 

milk used and every head of cabbage and lettuce 
taken from the garden. It would not be a diflS- 
cult task however to watch or record these things 
for a time. This would then serve as a basis 
from which fairly accurate estimates could be 
made of the amounts consumed during the year. 
A knowledge of the credit accounts involved is 
equally valuable, for it will help to place those 
lines of production which are called upon to help 
support the family in their proper light. The 
dairy, the swine, the poultry, the garden and the 
orchard do not usually receive the credit they 
deserve in this connection. 

Such a record of family consumption will 
prove a source of satisfaction in more ways than 
one. Compare the account with that of your 
village or city neighbour when you have oppor- 
tunity. If possible let this comparison show 
the difference in amounts of fresh eggs, poultry, 
milk, vegetables, fruit, etc, used, as well as 
the total cost. Such comparison may help you 
to be more content with your lot. Perchance 
your neighbour's salary will look less enticing to 
you if he gives you the facts fully. 

THE METHOD 

The method of keeping these separate accounts 
matters little. The chief essential is that it be 
as simple as possible. Any cheap blank book 



VMr. 


1 <»o O 


1 foi 












HoBth 


Milk. 

lbs. 


Biilter Fit 


Hllk. 
lbs. 


Butler Fat 


Hllk. 

lbs. 


Butler F.l 


Hllk. 

lbs 


Bultrr F.l 


Hllk. 

lbs 


Bul,erF.t 


Bilk. 

lbs. 


Butter F>t 


Bilk. 

lbs 


Butler Fat 


f 


lbs. 


t 


Ibi 


« 


lbs 


( 


lbs. 


< 


lbs 


< 


lbs. 


< 


lb.. 


JA!I. 

FEB. 

BARCH 

IPIIIL 

>AT 

ji;>E 

JILV 

Ane. 

SEPT. 
OCT. 
NOV. 
DEC. . 


J»7 

ibS 
if 2 

aio 

US 
ii. 


b. 




^1f 

5a.6 

S-35 

s/7 

.»» 
in 

5»3 

(•'»'/ 
SSI 
57/ 


V*- 


































lot.l 


S37 






174 




































Batter 











































Sketch, Pedigree, Breeding; and Milk Record of Gtiernsey 
Name liim*WX. Cr^ ^ CrarjujYY^yvdiX* 



Ovuj 



Owned by CR. . ^, C,v4JLyj^ o4 Q^.'b- W^A.. QmXL Private Herd No. 



No. /*./A<5».. 




51. ONE COW'S RECORD 



l^/oAm-f^M vtrtJ- '•rrLKnJJU. 



^ 



la. I ktm 



^'^f- 






UU;^ 






^Oxy^yA/wri yvtnj aJL 



(^jri^ L 



3W ^^^^ 



vKs;L 



lUa!Lt<n ^~^^, 



^: 






^,<;?-ar(fi>.p 



-c 






W\ . UO ■ J«-«^-^L/u 



_Oi,^ 



J.. /»7V 



3 °^- '/ Oi 



Xsat^i4^y2S-5s>iJLbUXa_ J* 



■<J^ 'Va 



>¥> 



^vn. 



nT>tJtP<^R«^»J^'^/3a./</ 



.<»;— ....^j it.,1. .^^^jjJ!sjx> lolt 1^/^, 



uut^Ui 



eJLydji.- 



■*lti,t.t 



52. ONE COW'S RECORD 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 197 

can be used, giving as much room as the account 
may promise to need. Separate sheets or bill- 
heads will do equally well, except that they are 
more likely to be misplaced and lost. The card 
catalogue system in any form will be particularly 
convenient. This, or any form of separate 
sheets, possesses the advantage that the accounts 
of different years may be brought together for 
convenience in making comparisons. 

These separate farm records showing the cost 
and return from different crops and lines of the 
business are even more important than business 
accounts. If you feel that you cannot keep 
both, begin here and let the other go. These 
records will show what things are paying and 
what ones are being run at a loss. Hence it will 
be easy to see whether the business as a whole 
is paying or not. 

GENERAL ADVICE 

Begin simply, but begin. Elaborate your 
method as you find more things which you w^ant 
to know. In relative importance the different 
phases of the subject occupy about the following 
rank: 

1. The inventory 2. Farm records 

3. The cash book 4. Personal accounts, etc. 



CHAPTER XII 

MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS FENCING 

THE cost of fencing is a heavy charge upon 
the farm enterprise. The material alone 
costs from thirty to fifty cents a rod under 
most circumstances, even with wire fencing, 
which is usually the least expensive kind which 
can be built. A 100-acre farm, 160 rods long 
and 100 rods wide will require 520 rods of 
fence to enclose it. With highway across the 
end, the road fence, if needed, and half the line 
fence will make 310 rods for the owner to build. 
If the farm is divided into four fields by halving 
in each direction, 260 rods will be added. If 
divided into eight fields by again halving in the 
shortest direction 200 rods more will be needed. 
If a laneway along the centre fence reaches to 
the two back fields this will require 120 rods. 
Allowing 10 rods extra for a barnyard makes 
a total, under these conditions, of 900 rods, or 
a little more than two and three-fourths miles, of 
fencing to be built and kept in repair. Assum- 
ing, for convenience, that this fence will cost 
fifty cents a rod, complete, the cost will be $450. 
With present quality of wire this is not likely 
to last more than six years, with more or less 

198 



MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS 199 

repairs. The annual charge is therefore $75, 
disregarding interest on the first cost. If in- 
stead of our present fence laws each man were 
required to fence in his own stock, regardless of 
boundary lines, and the owner of this farm 
should provide one permanent pasture occupying 
one-fourth of the farm adjacent to the buildings, 
only 260 rods of fencing would be required, 
making the annual charge but $26. If his 
neighbour should chance to have a pasture next 
to his that fence would be divided and the cost 
still further reduced. Bringing in pasture as a 
part of the regular rotation greatly increases the 
cost of fencing. 

The quality of material used is an important 
matter. It is an indisputable fact that the wire 
fencing used in recent years has proved very 
unsatisfactory, adding greatly to the ultimate 
cost, even though the price has been much re- 
duced. It is to be hoped that some simple 
method of determining quality will be evolved, 
so that the buyer may be able to get good material 
by paying for it; he should then by all means do 
so. 

No useless fences should be permitted to re- 
main. If a fence cannot justify its existence 
beyond question it should be cut out. A care- 
ful study of this problem of the farm may yield 
most excellent returns. If pastures can be 
brought nearer the barn and unnecessary lanes 



200 FARM MANAGEMENT 

avoided this may materially reduce the amount 
of fencing required. Small fields are the bane 
of many New England farms. Unfortunately 
these are in many cases enclosed by stone walls, 
which are not easily removed. The great in- 
convenience in working such fields will warrant 
considerable outlay in removing the walls and 
attendant lines of weeds and brush. 

Where pasture enters into the regular rotation 
a satisfactory portable fence would be a great 
convenience. Many types of these have been 
suggested, but they are usually too expensive 
or too unstable to give satisfaction. To move 
a woven wire fence is not really a great task and 
might often be done with advantage. 

ECONOMY OF TIME 

The labour problem forms the heaviest charge 
in farming operations. It therefore warrants 
careful study. There are many ways in which 
time can be economised or wasted. 

The effectiveness of labour is often decreased 
by allowing unimportant things to usurp the 
place of the main work in hand. So many 
incidental things and interruptions are constantly 
occurring on the farm that this point needs to 
be carefully guarded. Forethought will prevent 
many of the interruptions or reduce their im- 
portance when they occur. This is particularly 



MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS 201 

true of breakages. The wise farmer is well 
provided with bolts, screws, rivets, nails and 
other things most likely to be needed. Having 
these things and the necessary tools at hand will 
often save the loss of much valuable time when 
men are waiting to go on with important work. 

Putting all implements in good repair before 
the time when needed will also contribute much 
to the efficiency of work. Immediately after 
haying is a much better time to repair haying 
machinery than immediately before. Concen- 
tration is a motto to keep well in mind. Put 
through the main work in hand. Let the inci- 
dental things come afterward and by themselves 
if possible to do it. 

Poor fences are the cause of much waste of 
time on many farms. Stopping to drive cattle 
out of fields into which they have broken, and to 
patch up a broken fence is a far too common 
occurrence. Important work must often cease 
while this is being done. The fence can be far 
more cheaply built when that is the main work 
in hand. If well done then other work need not 
be interrupted to do parts of the work at much 
disadvantage from time to time. Broken har- 
nesses, worn out hose, loose nuts and many things 
of like nature all contribute to similar loss of time. 

A fast walking team will do much to econo- 
mise time. A 12-inch furrow must be eight and 
one-fourth miles long to equal an acre. If the 



202 FARM MANAGEMENT 

team walks two miles per hour in plowing it will 
require four hours and eight minutes to turn the 
furrow, regardless of stops and turns. At a 
walk of three miles per hour it will require but 
two hours and forty-five minutes. 

The shape of fields is also an important factor 
in such operations as plowing. If a 100-acre 
farm of the shape indicated in the diagram on 
another page be divided into eight fields as there 
suggested it will require 1,320 turns, with a 
12-inch furrow, to plow one of the twelve and 
one-half acre fields, disregarding the waste along 
fences. If each turn can be made in 30 seconds, 
the time consumed will be 660 seconds or 11 hours. 
If the farm is divided into four parts, by halving 
in each direction, as suggested, one of the 25- 
acre fields can be plowed with 1,650 turns, re- 
quiring 13f hours of time. This effects a saving 
of 8^ hours over the time required in plowing 
the two fields separately. If two of the fields 
lying end to end are plowed together no more 
turns are required than in plowing one, and 11 
hours would be saved in turning. A square 
field of 12i acres requires 1,500 turns, with a 
12-inch furrow, which will consume 12i hours 
in turning. 

If the furrow is only nine inches wide instead 
of twelve inches it will require about one-third 
more turns, with consequent increase in length 
of furrow, in time consumed in making turns. 



MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS 203 

and in time lost from inconvenient shape of 
fields. 

A strong team, able to do the full amount of 
work required, trained to walk at a brisk pace, 
with implements of the largest size consistent 
with efficiency, and well arranged fields are 
important factors in the economy of time. 

The shape of the farm itself may be an im- 
portant matter. In some localities long, narrow 
farms, with a short frontage on the highway and 
extending a long distance back on the hills, are 
the rule. Such a farm is much more expensive 
to work than one which is more compact, with 
buildings more centrally located. The addi- 
tional cost of going to and from work at the 
farther end of such a place, and especially of 
drawing in crops and drawing out manure, 
becomes a decided handicap to the business. 

As striking illustrations of the loss of time 
which may occur from inconvenience in the 
arrangement of the farm or as a result of con- 
ditions which exist, John Hamilton, in one of 
the reports of the Pennsylvania Department of 
Agriculture, has called attention to the fact that 
the man who has driven his stock one-fourth mile 
to water twice a day for forty years, has travelled 
14,600 miles in doing so. If instead, he has 
spent ten minutes, three times a day, in pumping 
water he has lost two and one-half years, of 300 
days each, out of his life. 



204 FARM MANAGEMENT 

The location and arrangement of buildings 
is an important factor in the economy or the 
waste of time. Barns too far from the house 
or from each other add greatly to the distance 
travelled and the time consumed, during a life- 
time. So too, neglect to give careful study to the 
interior arrangement of buildings may add much 
to the time consumed in doing the work. A 
few hours spent in study and planning may save 
many days during the existence of the building. 
I recall one barn on the farm of a man who was 
noted for his thoughtfulness in these matters, 
and who provided himself with an unusual 
number of little conveniences seldom found. 
Yet the absence of a stairway necessitated going 
out of doors and around the barn whenever the 
second floor was to be reached. This meant 
every time that hay or straw was needed for the 
stock, besides the many times at which it would 
occur in the ordmary rounds of work. Most of 
the implements were kept on the upper floor and 
all the stock kept below. In storm and snow 
and wind, for forty years or more, so long as 
the barn stood, this trip had to be made and 
the large barn door above opened whenever it 
was necessary to go from one floor to the other. 
A little study of farm buildings will reveal many 
such illustrations. 

Another case comes to mind in which the 
dairy barn stands about twenty-five rods from 




58. SMALL FIELDS (See diagram) 
/ 9 u I) di 







R 
J 


.j/rf. 


J J. noi' 


3 9 Lfds 


d'i ifcii 


8> 


hay, 








Ji ydl 






6j 

2- 


i 3 yc/s 





54. DI.AGRAM OF SMALL FIELDS SHOWN AT FJG. 53 
Stone walls form the division lines. Approxim.ate area within double lines 2.9+ acres 



160 rods 






\ J \ 



I 



55. DIAGRAM OF FENCING PROBLEM FOR A 100-ACRE FARM 



MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS 205 

the house (A. Fig. 56) The farm supports a 
dairy of twenty cows and the milk is all carried 
to the house cellar to be separated and cared 
for, which requires ten or twelve trips per day. 
This means that the total distance travelled in 
both directions, for this purpose alone, will be 
about six hundred miles per year. It should 
be remembered, too, that much of this distance 
must be travelled when the man who carries the 
two heavy pailfuls of milk is already well-nigh 
exhausted from a long day's work in the fields. 
The additional trips needed for other purposes 
will bring the average well above two miles per 
day. Yet as long as he lived the owner of this 
farm kept up this laborious travel. His de- 
scendants are wisely planning to bring the barn 
nearer the house. 

On this same farm the well is located more 
than ten rods away from the kitchen door. 
(B. Fig. 56.) For each daily trip to the well 
the total distance travelled is over twenty-two 
miles per year. The housewife estimates that 
at least twelve pailfuls of water per day are used, 
which shows how many times this twenty-two 
miles must be multiplied to give the amount of 
the year's travel. Such a condition does not 
look so bad on the ground as it proves to be 
when reduced to figures. Measure off ten rods 
from your kitchen door and it will not look very 
far. You might readily be induced to locate a 



206 FARM MANAGEMENT 

well there if the divining rod should say so and 
you believed in the divining rod. Many a home 
depends upon a water supply farther removed 
than this. 

Haying operations afford a good field for 
study in economy of time. At a Pomona Grange 
meeting in Rhode Island I asked for the ex- 
perience of the farmers present as to the cost 
of harvesting hay. The consensus of opinion 
expressed was about as follows. Mowing re- 
quires one-hour per acre, raking the hay and 
scatterings one-half hour. Two men and team 
will put a load to the barn in one hour. Three 
men will unload it in twenty to thirty minutes. 
The average yield of hay per acre in the United 
States for the last ten years has been less than one 
and one-half tons per acre. These figures would 
make the cost of harvesting about one dollar per 
ton, if no extra labour were needed in bunching 
to guard against rain. 

I watched a good driver in heavy grass, work- 
ing with a quick team. Turning at the corners 
took from twelve to fifteen seconds, when nothing 
hindered. Many teams would take double the 
time. This machine had a five-foot cutter-bar. 
Measuring six swaths together at different 
places showed that it was cutting about four feet 
three inches of grass on the average. On 
smooth land, with sharp knives, a six-foot cutter- 
bar, which the team would be able to handle^ 



MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS 207 

would reduce the time of mowing nearly 20 
per cent. Two feet added to the length of the 
hay rake will reduce the cost of raking 20 to 
25 per cent. More important than either, a 
system of management which will bring the 
yield of grass up to three tons per acre will 
reduce, by more than half, the cost per ton for 
mowing and raking. A hay loader, with prop- 
erly raked windrows, will materially reduce 
the time required in getting each load to the 
barn and make the farmer less dependent upon 
extra help, which is always most expensive and 
difficult to get in haying time. These are prob- 
lems which cannot be figured out with exactness 
but they are problems which will well repay 
careful study. 



CHAPTER XIII 

COOPERATION 

MUCH has been written upon the subject 
of cooperation. A volume might well 
be devoted to this alone, as volumes have 
already been devoted to it. In the present 
connection, however, little more than a general 
outline of the field and its possibilities can be 
attempted. The subject naturally divides itself 
into four main lines, viz.: 1. Cooperative pro- 
duction. 2. Cooperative manufacture. 3. Co- 
operative buying. 4. Cooperative marketing. 
These will be considered in their order. 

PRODUCTION 

Cooperative production in its simpler forms 
has been long in vogue. The practice of "chang- 
ing works" was common among farmers in the 
early day. Later it seems to have grown into 
disrepute to some extent, although recently 
many farmers have been driven back to it by the 
scarcity and inefficiency of farm labour. Many 
a farmer is now trying to manage his business 
alone who would gladly employ additional 
labour if available at prices which the returns 

208 



COOPERATION 209 

would warrant him in paying. There are 
several ways in which cooperative production 
among farmers can be carried on to advantage. 

1. The Ownership of Large Implements. — ^As 
pointed out in the discussion of implements and 
machinery, the fixed charges incident to the 
ownership of an expensive implement prevent 
such ownership being profitable in a small 
business. If the implement is one which needs 
to be used for only a short time during the year, 
and particularly if the work is of such nature 
that it need not be done at a definite time, owning 
the machine in partnership by near neighbours 
will prove greatly to their advantage. The 
larger amount of work to which the fixed charges 
are thus apportioned may make the partial 
ownership a profitable one where entire owner- 
ship would be unprofitable. 

A farm engine may often be advantageously 
owned in this way. It can do the work of saw- 
ing wood, grinding feed and filling silos for 
several farms as well as for one. In connection 
with it a silage cutter may also be included in 
the partnership, though in this case the partner- 
ship needs to be closely limited. The work of 
filling silos should be done within a compara- 
tively short period of time and each farmer is 
likely to need the machines at the same time. If 
it is the custom to cooperate in doing the work, 
there is nothing to prevent cooperation in the 



210 FARM MANAGEMENT 

ownership of the machinery, since that can onlj 
be employed where the farmers themselves are 
engaged. A corn harvester might also be in- 
cluded in the outfit. Two or three farmers who 
can work together harmoniously will often find 
it greatly to their advantage to own the complete 
outfit for transferring the corn from the field 
to the silo in common, and to do the work 
together. One factor which will materially 
influence the desirability of such a plan is the 
opportunity or lack of opportunity to hire men 
with outfits for doing the work. In many com- 
munities men make a business of filling silos 
as they do of running a threshing machine, the 
same parties often owning both machines. If 
such an outfit can be secured at the right time 
it may be better to hire it than to assume the ex- 
penses of ownership, even in company with 
others. I have never yet known a man who had 
accumulated much wealth by operating such 
outfits, which may argue somewhat against the 
assumption of the ownership by the farmer 
himself. 

Cooperative ownership of a feed mill presents 
less difficulties than in the case of corn machinery. 
Feed may be ground at any time and may be 
carried to the mill or the mill brought to the 
feed, whichever may happen to be most conven- 
ient at the time. A wood sawing outfit is 
especially well adapted to cooperative owner- 



COOPERATION 211 

ship, since the work can be done at any time dur- 
ing the year when the time can be given to it, and 
the outfit itself can be moved from place to 
place with little trouble. 

A grain binder, like the corn harvester, can 
only be used during a limited time, but is cap- 
able of doing far more work than that afforded 
by the average farm, with no loss from neglect 
of crops, if the work is properly planned and 
managed. 

2. The Ownership of Improved Sires and 
Breeding Stock. — Two or three neighbouring 
farmers may combine in the purchase of a bull, 
either for general use or for use only with the 
best cows owned by each. By this means they 
may well afford to get the best blood available 
and easily build up high-class herds. I recall 
one instance where this plan was followed, to 
the marked advantage of the two herds con- 
cerned. In a similar manner, cooperative 
ownership or a cooperative association may be 
the means of bringing into a community a well- 
bred stallion of a type which might be otherwise 
unavailable. Even in communities where much 
attention has been paid to the breeding of horses 
it is often impossible to find a good stallion of 
the particular class which it may be desired to 
use. Good coach stallions are wanting in many 
communities where trotting-bred horses are to 
be found in abundance. The introduction of a 



212 FARM MANAGEMENT 

good jack, for the breeding of mules, may like- 
wise prove of marked benefit to a farm com- 
munity. A word of caution should be added 
in this connection for cooperative associations 
for the ownership of stallions often lead to 
failure. 

3. Cooperative Labour, Cooperative labour 
has always been common among farmers in a 
limited way. In such operations as threshing, 
and latterly the filling of silos, extra help must be 
employed. This is most often secured from the 
neighbouring farms. The principle remains 
the same whether the service is paid for in money 
or by a return in kind. This plan of work 
might doubtless be extended with advantage 
in many cases, particularly on small farms. 
Instead of two farmers working separately to do 
their haying with incomplete equipment, the 
same amount of investment by each would often 
provide one complete equipment and by working 
together a saving of time and money might 
be possible for each. The success of such a 
plan will depend much upon the personality of 
the parties concerned, the location of the farms 
and other attendant conditions. If each farmer 
owns and operates certain parts of the equipment, 
instead of owning the whole outfit in common, 
there is less danger of friction. The plan of 
cooperative work can then be easily abandoned at 
any time if found undesirable. 




U -o 



O I 



COOPERATION 213 

MANUFACTURE 

Cooperative manufacture in agriculture is 
best represented by the creameries, cheese 
factories and similar enterprises which dot 
the country from ocean to ocean. These are 
generally organised in the form of a stock com- 
pany, with shares of stock issued as in other 
corporations. When started on the right foun- 
dation, and well managed, the outcome has 
nearly always been good. When started at 
the instance of promotors who were concerned 
in foisting upon the farmers a poor equipment 
at an excessive cost they have often failed. 
Where the farmers themselves have engineered 
the matter from the beginning the undertaking 
has generally proved successful, when good 
business men were connected with the manage- 
ment. For the want of such men some ventures 
have failed which had in them the other ele- 
ments of success. 

Conversation with a farmer connected with 
the management of one such creamery revealed 
the fact that the company had not only been 
able to make and market the butter of its patrons 
on the same terms offered by private creameries 
but the business had yielded such good returns to 
the stockholders that they were considering the 
question of devising some plan to reduce these 
returns, feeling them to be too high for wise 



214 FARM MANAGEMENT 

business management. In this case the charge 
for making and marketing the butter has been 
three cents per pound, the product of one month 
being paid for at the end of the succeeding month. 
A manager who is both a good butter maker 
and a good salesman is essential to such results. 
To enter into the history or details of coop- 
erative enterprises of this sort would far exceed 
the limits of the present undertaking. The reader 
is therefore referred to writings upon this partic- 
ular field for further information regarding it. 

BUYING 

Where rightly planned cooperative buying 
may prove of marked advantage to a farm com- 
munity. In the early days of the grange move- 
ment this was made a prominent feature of the 
order, but soon fell into disrepute. As there 
carried on it usually took the form of a 
o-range store which aimed to carry a more or 
less complete stock of merchandise from which 
its members could purchase such articles as they 
wished. Such undertakings were diflScult to 
maintain because demanding more time and 
attention to insure their success than the size 
of the business would warrant. 

As an illustration of the kind of cooperative 
buying which does prove successful the practice 
of the Middletown Grange of Middletown, R. I. 
may be cited. This grange is located in a potato 



COOPERATION 215 

growing locality. Its members buy commercial 
fertilisers and seed potatoes in large quantities. 
Instead of each man buying on his own initiative 
they buy together, having their own brand of 
fertiliser, mixed according to their directions, 
and having their seed potatoes shipped from 
Maine in carload lots when wanted. The plan 
has proved very satisfactory and affords a 
marked saving to the parties interested. 

The same plan could be, and doubtless is, 
followed with success in the purchase of grain 
and other supplies. The cooperative creamery 
may well form the centre for the purchase of 
grain for its patrons. Such a plan would not 
only afford a saving in the cost of feed, but in 
many cases would also insure the use of grains 
which would secure a better balanced ration and 
better results in feeding. With a creamery 
manager who would inform himself thoroughly 
as to the best practices in feeding, this latter 
advantage might be even greater than the saving 
in price. The local grange might equally well 
serve as the centre for such cooperative buying 
of feeding stuffs. A discussion of the merits of 
different feeds and a study of the prevailing 
prices at the time would thus prove a topic of 
special interest for the grange meetings and the 
results obtained could hardly prove other than 
satisfactory, provided the business were done on 
a strictly cash basis, as it certainly should be. 



216 FARM MANAGEMENT 

Such cooperative buying might be profitably 
extended to any article which is needed in suffi- 
cient quantity by the community to make the 
undertaking worth while. The purchase of a 
given article on definite orders, in the manner 
suggested, avoids the difficulties which contri- 
buted to the disappearance of the grange store 
as formerly conducted. That cooperative stores 
may be run successfully, has been proved time 
and again, but they require good business 
management, with the right man at the head. 
They also demand a plan somewhat different 
from that usually followed by the grange store. 
Those undertakings which have succeeded have 
usually followed somewhat closely the Rochdale 
plan practised in England, in which no attempt 
is made to sell articles at cost but in which 
regular retail prices are charged. This provides 
a margin for the payment of expenses and for 
meeting losses caused by depreciation in value 
of goods or other property or from other causes. 
If dividends are warranted they are paid in 
proportion to the amount of goods purchased 
rather than the amount of capital invested by 
the individual.* 

No community should embark in such an 
undertaking without a most careful consideration 
of all the problems and difficulties involved. 



*Forafun history and discussion of cooperative enterprises the reader is 
referred to Myrick's "How to Cooperate." 



COOPERATION 217 

The failures have been far more numerous than 
the successes. 

SELLING 

Cooperative selling presents more difficul- 
ties than any other form of cooperation, yet it 
has been made a success in very many cases. 
When attendant upon cooperative manufacture, 
as in the case of creameries and cheese factories, 
it is free from the more troublesome features 
which attend the attempts to sell other forms of 
produce in this manner. 

The fundamental weakness in this type of 
cooperation lies in the inherent quality of 
human nature which cannot resist the temp- 
tation to make private sales in competition with 
the cooperative organisation. If the coopera- 
tion consists merely in an agreement to maintain 
prices some one is very likely to cut under and 
destroy the price. If it is an agreement to mar- 
ket all the commodity produced through the 
organisation, the prospect of a slightly higher 
price from some other source is quite sure to 
draw away some of the goods which belong in 
the cooperative channel, to the detriment of the 
business. The fact that such advance may be 
only temporary and that the average returns 
from the cooperative system are likely to prove 
better, is seldom sufficient to prevent such de- 
flection of products. 

Another difficulty arises in connection with 



218 FARM MANAGEMENT 

the quality of the products offered. Unless there 
is a strong organisation with a central authority 
which will adhere rigidly to established grades 
much trouble is likely to arise. 

That these difficulties are not insurmountable 
is evidenced by the success of many of the co- 
operative fruit shipping associations of the West. 
With a legally incorporated organisation, and 
good business men in charge, such undertakings 
may be made to yield substantial results. The 
management of such an enterprise constitutes 
a business of itself into which it is not the province 
of this discussion to enter. The farmer's train- 
ing and surroundings tend to develop individ- 
uality rather than interdependence. It is not 
easy for him to work with others in business 
undertakings. If it were possible for him to 
forego this desire for individual effort and eradi- 
cate from his nature the distrust of his fellow 
farmers, which he is so likely to hold, he might 
often profit by union of effort in disposing of 
his products. Such union might take the form 
of small undertakings based upon mutual agree- 
ment between neighbours as well as the larger 
undertakings based upon organised corporations. 

FIRE INSURANCE 

Aside from the four main lines already dis- 
cussed cooperation may take other forms not 
strictly concerned with the direct business 



COOPERATION 219 

management of the farm. Among such forms 
which have proved especially satisfactory may 
be mentioned fire insurance and telephone com- 
panies. The movement on the part of old-line 
companies to avoid risks on farm property which 
has appeared in recent years, together with the 
increase in rates demanded upon such property, 
has favoured the development of mutual insur- 
ance companies among the farmers themselves. 
The Grange has been most largely instrumental 
in bringing this about. In some instances these 
companies have met with reverses at the outset 
of their career from lack of knowledge of in- 
surance methods and the safeguards with which 
it is necessary to conduct the business. The 
outcome, however, has usually been entirely 
satisfactory, resulting in a perfectly safe and 
well-managed insurance at much less cost than 
in the old-line companies. 

The fire insurance company with which the 
writer chances to be most familiar is limited to 
Grange members in good standing who may own 
property within certain specified townships. 
The policy contains, first, the usual provisions 
demanded by the state law. The by-laws of 
this company then provide for the election of 
oflficers and the general conduct of the business. 
Property to be insured is appraised by a member 
of the board of directors and passed upon by 
the board as a whole. No policy shall exceed 



220 FARM MANAGEMENT 

two- thirds of the actual value of the property 
covered by it. A fee of $2.50, plus five cents for 
each $100 of insurance, is charged for issuing 
a policy, except in case of revision, when 
the fee is $1, plus five cents for each $100 
added to the amount already in force. If a 
dwelling remains vacant for more than ten days 
the company will pay half of its actual value 
in case of loss. Losses are met by direct assess- 
ments on the property insured, usually being 
levied at about a two-mill rate, which yields a 
sufficient amount from one assessment to cover 
several losses. The experience of this com- 
pany has been very satisfactory and the cost 
very reasonable. 

Other companies levy a fixed rate, thus accu- 
mulating a fund upon which to draw when losses 
occur, aiming thereby to secure a surplus which 
shall provide against assessments, although the 
parties insured are liable to such assessment 
whenever occasion may demand it. This plan 
is more like that of the old-line companies 
and may be subject to the same temptations. 

TELEPHONE SYSTEMS 

Cooperative telephone systems have proved 
equally satisfactory wherever inaugurated among 
the farmers. One to which the writer belongs 
is organised as a stock company, but no member 




CLi S» 



O 0) 

fa a 



o 

o 

H 
W 



COOPERATION 221 

is allowed to hold more than thirty dollars of 
stock. This stock fund is used in constructing 
the line, being paid in part by labour or poles in 
many cases. Each member buys his own phone. 
Fees are then levied to provide for the expenses 
of operation. This system now covers a consid- 
erable portion of several counties, with con- 
nections to all the leading towns in the territory. 
The fees levied upon stockholders are at present 
$3 per year. Merchants and others who are not 
stockholders are charged a somewhat higher 
price. The undertaking has proved of the 
greatest convenience and satisfaction to the 
communities which it covers, and the cost has 
not even approximated that of the charges 
exacted by the established telephone companies. 
The system is now large enough to render its 
subscribers practically independent of those 
systems and also to furnish them a much better 
service, because connected with far more people 
in the vicinity. 



CHAPTER XIV 

SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 

THE comparative advantages of different 
types of farming can best be seen by 
analysing the problem and endeavouring 
to estimate the probable cost and return for 
each. The following estimates are made with 
care and after consultation with those whose 
opinions are of value, but it must be remembered 
that many of the items are subject to great 
fluctuation, varying with locality, season and 
other conditions. The figures should be accepted 
as suggestive only and carefully verified or 
replaced by others as conditions may demand. 
For purposes of comparison I have assumed in 
all cases, except for the very intensive types, a 
farm of 100 acres, valued at $40 an acre for the 
land alone. To this is added the value of the 
buildings needed for the kind of farming which 
may be under consideration. The dwelling 
house is not included, for, as elsewhere explained, 
that is really not a part of the business. 

In these cornparisons it is assumed that twenty 
acres of land are occupied by buildings, wood- 
land and waste places, including highway, waste 
land along fences, etc. This leaves eighty 

222 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 223 

acres to be divided among the different crops 
and lines of production. 



MIXED FARMING 

INVENTORY 

Farm, 100 acres @ $40 $4,000.00 

Dairy and farm barn 1,000.00 

Sheep barn 200.00 

Silo 100.00 

Hog house 50.00 

Hen house 60.00 

10 Cows @ $40 400.00 

Bull 50.00 

Young stock 150.00 

50 Sheep @ $4 200.00 

3 Hogs @ $15 and $20 50.00 

50 Hens @ 50 cents 25.00 

Separator 100.00 

Small dairy utensils 25.00 

Team, harness and wagons 400.00 

Mowing machine 40.00 

Hay rake 20.00 

Tedder 25.00 

Plows and harrows 50.00 

Grain drill 50.00 

Spraying outfit 15.00 

Small implements 100.00 

Total, $7,100.00 

This provides for the essential things on a 
mixed farm. Additional implements which 
would be desirable but which the size of the 
business may not warrant are a corn planter. 



224 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



corn harvester, ensilage cutter, potato planter, 
potato digger and grain binder. 



Woodland, 
Orchard 


FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

waste and buildings 


Acres 

20 

5 


Pasture . 






20 


Meadow 






20 


Corn 






10 


Oats 






10 


Wheat 






5 


Buckwheat 






5 


Potatoes 






5 











100 

PROBABLE EXPENSE OF MANAGEMENT 

Interest on $7,100 @ 5% $355.00 

Depreciation, repairs and insurance on buildings 

@ 5% 70.00 

Depreciation on team and tools, $825 @ 10% 82.50 
Taxes 40.00 



Help (in addition to that of farmer) 








200.00 


Supplies and incidentals 

Total, 


200.00 


$947.50 


PROBABLE RETUR^ 


3 


2,000 lbs. Butter @ 20 cents 


. . . $400.00 


5 Calves @ $10 . . . . 










50.00 


4 Old cows or heifers @ $25 










100.00 


10 Pigs, 4 weeks old . 










20.00 


1,000 lbs. Pork @ 5 cents . 










50.00 


300 lbs. Wool @ 25 cents . 










75.00 


40 Lambs @ $3 . . . . 










120.00 


400 dozen Eggs @ 20 cents . 










80.00 




Di o 
O c 



I 




SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 225 

Fowls and chickens 50.00 

125 bbls. Apples 125.00 

100 bu. Wheat @ 75 cents 75.00 

150 bu. Buckwheat @ 50 cents . , . . 75.00 

500 bu. Potatoes @ 40 cents 200.00 

Total, $1,420.00 
Expense of Management, $947.50 

Farmer's Salary, $472.50 

The farm rotation balance suggested in the 
above problem is designed to be fairly represen- 
tative, rather than the best apportionment. In 
many localities buckwheat would not appear 
and in others wheat would be replaced by rye. 
In this and succeeding problems estimates for 
help do not include the labour of the farmer 
himself; the net returns stand as the salary 
which the farmer receives for his services. No 
personal or family expenses should be included 
under the head of "supplies and incidentals." 

A word of explanation is demanded regarding 
the figures given for probable returns. The 
problem is designed to illustrate a typical 
*' mixed farm'* on which nothing is made a 
specialty and nothing is pushed to a high state of 
productiveness, yet a farm which represents 
good farming and more than average crops. 
The yield of butter is placed at 200 pounds per 
cow, much below the possibilities of good cows 
but decidedly above the average returns shown 
by statistics. It is assumed that half the calves 



226 FARM MANAGEMENT 

are raised and half of them are sold at the end 
of the first summer. Surplus milk is fed to pigs, 
leaving the pork production small. In many 
cases it would be better to veal the calves and 
grow more pork. The return for apples is 
placed at one-half the estimated yield for a bear- 
ing year. The potato crop is a side issue, like 
everything else. It receives no special care or 
fertiliser and it is assumed that it will be possible 
to market 100 bushels per acre and provide for 
seed for the following year. 

The farm is supposed to be largely self- 
supporting. It is assumed that the farmer will 
hire one man during the summer months and 
care for the stock himself during the winter. 
The farm is expected to provide feed for all 
the stock which it keeps. The farm manure, 
applied at some fixed place in the rotation, is 
depended upon to maintain fertility and there is 
no outlay for fertiliser. This may seem unwise 
to the New Englander but the typical farmer of 
New York and Pennsylvania will feel quite at 
home under these conditions. There are many 
ways in which the returns might be increased 
and many more in which they might be reduced. 

A REPRESENTATIVE MIXED FARM, NEW YORK 

The following actual figures are from a large 
farm in New York. It is one with some very 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 227 

fertile bottom-land and a large amount of rough 
and steep hillside. The figures represent general 
averages as given from memory by the owner: 

INVENTORY 

Cost Valuation 

Farm, 276 acres @ $30 $8,280.00 

Waterworks 1,000.00 

Dairy barn and silos 4,500.00 

Hen house, 20x60 200.00 

Hog pen, 20 X 40 200.00 

Horse barn, 28x40, with sheds. . . . 800.00 

Tool and carriage house 200.00 

Outlying hay and straw barn .... 800.00 

2 Tenant houses, $800 and $600 . . . l,400.0a 

5 Work horses 400.00 

2 Colts, unbroken 200.00 

Harness 40.00 

Wagons 100.00 

Sleighs 40.00 

Separator $200 . . 150.00 

Dairy engine $100 . . 50.00 

Dairy room 50.00 

Churns, milk cans and small utensils 30.00 

Steam engine $400 . . 200.00 

Ensilage cutter .... $105 . . 60.00 

Corn harvester 115.00 

2 Mowing machines ....... 50.00 

Tedder $ 25 . . 15.00 

Hay rake 15.00 

Hay press $150 . . 40.00 

Reaper 50.00 

Grain drill $ 80 . . 55.00 

Thresher $200 . . 40.00 

4 Plows 25.00 



228 FARM MANAGEMENT 

Disc harrow $28. . . $20.00 

3 Spring-tooth harrows 15.00 

Corn cultivator .... $28. . . 20.00 

Roller 15.00 

Fanning mill 5.00 

Grist mill 5.00 

Buzz saw . 15.00 

Pulleys and shafting 10.00 

Small implements 100.00 

Bull 50.00 

38 Cows @ $30 1,140.00 

8 Yearlings and two-year-olds .... 150.00 

9 Calves 45.00 

30 Sheep @ $4 120.00 

7 Brood sows 105.00 

10 Shoats 60.00 

30 Pigs 100.00 

150 Hens @ 35c 52.50 

12 swarms Bees @ $2.50 30.00 

Total, $21,162.50 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE ECreS 

Woodland and waste 80 

Rough pasture 50 

Orchard 6 

Rotation pasture 8 

Corn 18 

Oats 18 

Buckwheat 6 

Rye 12 

Potatoes 1 

Garden and small fruits 2 

Meadow 75 

276 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 229 

EXPENSE OF MANAGEMENT 

Help (3 regular men @ $250.00 with 

perquisites) $1,200.00 

Feed ($600 to $800) .... 700.00 

Supplies and incidentals . . 300.00 

Fertilisers (5 tons acid phosphate) 60.00 

Taxes 30.00 

$2,290.00 

To this should be added: 

Interest on investment, $21,162.50 

@ 5% $1,058.13 

Depreciation, repairs and insur- 
ance on buildings, $8,100 @ 5% 405.00 

Depreciation on team and tools, 

$1,930 @ 10% 193.00 

$1,656.13 

Total expense, $3,946.13 

RETURNS 

Butter, ($65 per cow, 260-270 lbs. average) . $2,470.00 

Cows sold, 6 to 8 @ $35 245.00 

Pork 600.00 

Wool and lambs, $48 and $132 . . . 180.00 

Eggs and poultry, $200 and $60 . . . 260.00 
Pork and beef consumed in family, $60 and $30 90.00 

Milk and cream consumed in family . . . 100.00 

Apples, 200 bbls. @ $1.25 250.00 

Rye straw 135.00 

Hay 150.00 

Buckwheat 140.00 

Potatoes, 75 bu. @ 40 cents 30.00 

Garden stuff 50.00 

Honey 30.00 

Calves 20.00 

Total, $4,750.00 



230 FARM MANAGEMENT 

It will be observed that upon this farm there 
is a very heavy investment in buildings, $8,100. 
Perhaps not all of this is needed from a purely 
business standpoint. Some of it may represent 
the home element rather than the business ele- 
ment, the perfectly legitimate wish to make one's 
surroundings pleasant and convenient. Yet the 
returns show that the farm is able to carry this 
heavy investment, with ample allowance for 
insurance, repairs and depreciation, paying an 
interest which it would be difficult for the owner 
to get with equal security in any other invest- 
ment, and still pay a fair salary to the manager 
for his services. This farm too, is so located 
that it must compete in distant markets and the 
business is conducted on general lines, with no 
fancy products. 

The rate of interest allowed above might 
be difficult for the owner to secure on the 
same property except by personal or interested 
management. As a matter of fact the farm 
is managed by the son, who pays a cash rental of 
$600 and bears all operating expenses, including 
taxes, repairs and many improvements. In the 
returns given, adequate allowance has not been 
made for products used at home. A full account 
of these items would considerably increase the 
net proceeds. 

It will be observed that while in this business 
the dairy is the leading element there is a wide 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 231 

diversity of operations, so that it fairly represents 
mixed farming of the better class. 

A woman's farm 

The following figures from a woman's farm in 
the West are taken from one of the magazines. 
While somewhat incomplete they serve to give 
a fair idea of a somewhat different type of mixed 
farming under different conditions. 

INVENTORY 

Fann, 80 acres $4,000.00 

3 Horses 200.00 

Plows and harrows 30.00 

Wagons 85.00 

Binder, mower and seeder 180.00 

10 Good cows 400.00 

4 Brood sows 60.00 

Harness 40.00 

Sundries . . 225.00 

$5,220.00 

RECEIPTS 

Milk and butter $500.00 

Hogs 250.00 

Poultry and eggs 150.00 

Garden surplus ........ 75.00 

Hay, 15 tons @ $8 120.00 

Corn, 500 bu. @ 20 cents 100.00 

Oats, 1,000 bu. @ 25 cents 250.00 

Other grains, fodders, etc 350.00 

Calves 50.00 

$1,845.00 



232 FARM MANAGEMENT 



EXPENSES 



One man $300.00 

Feed, cows 300.00 

Feed, other stock 150.00 

Wear and tear 100.00 



$850.00 
DAIRY FARMING 

If run exclusively in the interests of the dairy, 

with summer soiling and silos and the careful 
attention of a dairy specialist our lOO-acre farm 
should be able to make a showing somewhat 
like the following: 

INVENTORY 

Farm, 100 acres @ $40 $4,000.00 

Dairy barn 1,500.00 

Silos 300.00 

Ice house 250.00 

Separator 125.00 

50 Cows @ $40 2,000.00 

Bull 100.00 

Young stock 400.00 

Team, harness and wagon 400.00 

Engine 250.00 

Ensilage cutter and carrier 125.00 

Mowing machine 40.00 

Tedder 25.00 

Hay rake 25.00 

Plows and harrows 50.00 

Dairy utensils 50.00 

Small implements 100.00 

Total, $9,740.00 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 233 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Woodland, waste and buildings 20 

Pasture 20 

Corn (one-half followed by rye and wheat) ... 30 

Oats and peas 15 

Hay (followed by barley and millet) .... 15 

100 

PROBABLE EXPENSE OF MANAGEMENT 

Interest, $9,740 @ 5% $ 487.00 

Depreciation, repairs and insurance on 

buildings, 5% 102.50 

Depreciation on team and tools 10 % . . 119.00 

Taxes 60.00 

Help 900.00 

Grain 1,000.00 

Supplies and incidentals 200.00 

Total, $2,868.50 

PROBABLE RETURNS 

12,500 lbs. Butter @ 25 cents .... $3,125.00 

35 Calves @ $10 350.00 

10 Cows @ $40 400.00 

Total, $3,875.00 
Expense of Management, 2,868.50 

Farmer's Salary, $1,006.50 

This plan, as here outlined, provides for noth- 
ing but dairy cattle. Ten of the best calves 
are kept each year to develop into cows. This 
leaves ten heifers coming one year old and ten 
coming two years old to be carried through each 
winter in addition to the fifty which are old 



234 FARM MANAGEMENT 

enough to be giving milk. The remaining calves 
it is assumed will be fed the skim milk and sold 
when six or eight months old. In actual practice 
it would probably prove better management to 
keep some pigs to help utilise the skim milk. 

The farm rotation balance allows twenty 
acres for pasture. This is probably more than 
the best management would permit. Soiling 
must be the main dependence and more feed 
could be produced by limiting the pasture to 
merely an exercise ground. Of the sixty acres 
remaining one-half is devoted to corn, one-fourth 
to oats and peas and one-fourth to hay. The 
corn will be called upon for soilmg and to fill the 
silos, any remaining being husked and the stalks 
cured dry. Part of the oats and peas will be fed 
green and part cured for hay. The hay land 
is plowed and sowed to barley and millet for 
late fall soiling and additional dry fodder, as 
soon as the hay is off. With clover the second 
crop might be depended upon for this purpose. 
Half of the corn ground is sowed to rye and 
wheat for early spring soiling, part of which will 
be cured for hay. This part of the corn ground 
is again planted to corn as soon as the rye and 
wheat are off. The remaining corn goes where 
the hay, followed by barley and millet, was the 
year before. Oats and peas occupy the remain- 
ing corn ground. 

This would develop a four-year rotation which 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 235 



would work out about as shown in the following 
diagram, provided the twenty acres of pasture 
do not enter into the rotation. This could be 
brought in by pasturing the meadow after hay 
is off and turning over fifteen acres of pasture 
for the barley and millet. The chief disad- 
vantage of the rotation is that it allows but one 
year's cutting of grass for each seeding. 



Corn 


Rye 
Wheat 

Seed 

Barley 
Millet 


Corn 


Seed 

Barley 
Millet 

Rye 
Wheat 


Oats 
and 
Peas 


Seed 

Barley 
Millet 

Rye 
Wheat 


Hay 


Oats 
and 
Peas 


Hay 


Corn 


Oats 
and 
Peas 


Hay 


Corn 


Hay 


Corn 


Oats 
and 
Peas 



Barley 
Millet 

Rye 
Wheat 



Seed 



It is assumed that the dairy specialist will keep 
better stock and secure a higher yield than the 
mixed farmer who makes the dairy only one of 
many lines. It is possible in time to considerably 
exceed the figures here given. It will be noted 
that the investment demanded in dairy farming 
is comparatively heavy. Depreciation in cows 
is provided for by the growth of young stock. 

The showing could be much improved by 
providing for pure-bred stock, which would add 
greatly to the value of animals sold. 



236 FARM MANAGEMENT 

A TYPICAL DAIRY FARM — PENNSYLVANIA 

INVENTORY 

Land without buildings, 120 acres @ $40 . $4,800.00 
Water supply 100.00 

Buildings 

Dwelling 1,200.00 

Barns 2,200.00 

Other farm buildings 200.00 

Live stock 

20 Cows @ $35 700.00 

Young cattle 296.00 

50 Hogs @ $8 400.00 

100 Hens @ 50 cents 50.00 

Teams and Tools 

4 Horses @ $50 200.00 

Farm harness 40.00 

Farm wagons 50.00 

Corn harvester 125.00 

Other farm implements 100.00 

Binder 115.00 

Total, $10,576.00 

FAHM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Buildings, waste and woodland 20 

Meadow 20 

Pasture 40 

Corn 20 

Oats 15 

Wheat 4 

Potatoes 1 

120 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 237 

AVERAGE EXPENSES 

Taxes $ 52.00 

Help 250.00 

Feeds 350.00 

Supplies and incidentals 25.00 

Total, $677.00 

AVERAGE RETURNS 

5,000 lbs. Butter at 22 cents $1,100.00 

8,000 lbs Pork @ 5 cents 400.00 

Eggs 150.00 

100 bu. Potatoes @ 50 cents 50.00 

Stock sold 750.00 

Total, $2,450.00 
SHEEP FARMING 

Sheep farming as a separate and independent 
proposition is a dijBScult problem. Even the men 
who believe most thoroughly in the sheep seldom 
advocate attempting to make that the only business . 

For the following estimate I am indebted to 
Joseph E. Wing of Ohio. 

INVENTORY 

Land without buildings, 100 acres @ $40. $4,000.00 

Barns and silos 1,200.00 

Other farm buildings, windmills, etc. . . 900.00 

4 Cows @ $35 140.00 

100 Sheep @ $5 500.00 

2 Hogs @ $10 20.00 

100 Hens @ 40 cents 40.00 

3 Horses @ $150 450.00 

Farm harness 45.00 

Farm wagons 50.00 

Other farm implements 250.00 

Total, $7,595.00 



238 FARM MANAGEMENT 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Buildings, waste and woodland 20 

Meadow 20 

Pasture 20 

Corn . 20 

Oats 5 

Potatoes 5 

Apples 5 

Soy beans 5 

100 

PROBABLE EXPENSES 

Taxes $ 85.00 

Help 300.00 

Supplies and incidentals 250.00 

Interest on investment 5% 379.75 

Depreciation, interest and insurance on 

buildings, 5% 105.00 

Depreciation on team and tools, 10% . 79.50 

$1,199.25 

PROBABLE RETURNS 

600 lbs. Butter @ 25 cents $150.00 

300 dozen eggs @ 20 cents 60.00 

500 bu. potatoes @ 40 cents 200.00 

100 bbls. Apples @ $1.50 150.00 

75 Fat lambs raised @ $7 525.00 

100 Fleeces 150.00 

25 Fat ewes 175.00 

300 Fat lambs fed through winter, profit . 300.00 

Total, $1,710.00 
Expense of Management, 1,199.25 

Farmer's Salary, $ 510.75 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 239 

Mr. Wing writes as follows concerning this 
estimate. '*I do not know of any sheep farms 
in the United States that are devoted altogether 
to sheep. It is difficult here to do that thing. 
The parasite is troublesome where too many 
sheep are kept. A farm of 100 acres is too small 
to be managed with most economy. Hogs and 
sheep mix disastrously. Cows, hens, and fruit 
fill in well. It is all a question of the man. If 
he is good, things will increase mightily and 
profit will result. If he is slack or lacks genius 
he will not make the farm pay." 

Sheep often prove profitable in mixed farming 
or as an adjunct to the dairy farm. A small 
flock, running with the cows or by themselves 
usually thrive well and prove proportionately 
more profitable than larger flocks. They are 
particularly well suited to dry hilly pastures, 
often bringing a better return from such land 
than it can be made to yield in any other way. 

A NEW ENGLAND FARM ON WHICH SHEEP 
FIND A PLACE MASSACHUSETTS 

INVENTORY 

Land without buildings, 200 acres @ $10 . $2,000.00 

Buildings 

Dwelling 2,000.00 

Barns and silos 2,000.00 

Other farm buildings 600.00 

Live stock 

15 Cows @ $40 600.00 



240 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



15 Young cattle . 
200 Sheep @ $4 
6 Hogs @ $7.50 . 
100 Hens @ 50 cents 
Teams arid Tools 
4 Horses .... 
2 Oxen .... 
Farm harness 
Farm wagons 
Other farm implements 



. . . 150.00 

, . . 800.00 

, . . 45.00 

. . 50.00 

. . 375.00 

. . 140.00 

. . 50.00 

. . 75.00 

. . 183.00 
Total $9,068.00 



FARM ROTATION BALANCE 



Buildings and woodland 

Meadow 

Pasture 

Corn 

Potatoes 



Acres 

60 

40 

100 

6 

1 



AVERAGE EXPENSES 

Taxes $160.00 

Help 500.00 

Feeds 500.00 

Fertilisers 50.00 



ouppiic9 itUU lUClUCULaiS 

Tota 




1 $1,410.00 


AVERAGE RETURNS 


5,000 lbs. Butter @ 22 cents .... $1,100.00 


1,000 lbs. Pork @ 6 J cents . 








65.00 


875 dozen Eggs @ 20 cents . 








175.00 


80 bu. Potatoes @ 60 cents . 








48.00 


400 bbls. Apples @ $1.50 . 








600.00 


700 lbs. Wool @ 18 cents . 








126.00 


Lambs sold 








400.00 



Total $2,514.00 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 241 

GRAIN FARMING 

For pure grain farming in the same locality 
in the East, the problem would be somewhat as 
follows : 

INVENTORY 

Farm, 100 acres @ $40 $4,000.00 

Grain barn 800.00 

Team, harness and wagons 400.00 

Plows and harrows 75.00 

Grain drill 50.00 

Binder 125.00 

Small implements 100.00 

$5,550.00 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Woodland, waste and buildings 20 

Oats or barley 30 

Buckwheat 10 

Wheat or rye, followed by cowpeas or clover . . 40 

100 

PROBABLE EXPENSES 

Interest, $5,550 @ 5% $277.50 

Depreciation, repairs and insurance on 

buildings 5% 40.00 

Depreciation on team and tools 10% . . 75.00 

Taxes 30.00 

Help and thresh bill 150.00 

Supplies and incidentals 100.00 

40 bu. Cowpeas or 10 bu. clover . . . 60.00 

Fertilisers 800.00 

Total $1,532.50 



242 FARM MANAGEMENT 

PROBABLE RETURNS 

850 bu. Oats @ 40 cents $340.00 

(1200 bu. less 350 for team and seed) 

40 tons Oat-straw @ $6 240.00 

300 bu. Buckwheat @ 50 cents .... 150.00 

800 bu. Rye @ 60 cents 480.00 

60 tons Rye-straw @ $12 . . . . . . 720.00 

Total $1,930.00 
Expense of Management 1,532.50 

Farmer's Salary $397.50 

This estimate assumes that the fertihty of the 
soil can be maintained by an annual expenditure 
of $10 per acre for fertilisers. It also provides 
for keeping up the humus supply by following 
the fall grain each year with a crop of cowpeas 
or crimson or mammoth clover. By dividing 
between fall and spring grain and using buck- 
wheat for part of the latter it will be possible 
for one man and team to do all the work of 
plowing and seeding. The only help needed 
will be in connection with harvesting and thresh- 
ing. Barley may be substituted for oats, or 
wheat for rye, with about equal returns, varying 
somewhat with the locality. 

Grain farming has naturally flourished where 
it has not been the custom to guard against 
depletion of fertility, and where extensive meth- 
ods are possible. It offers little inducement to 
the Eastern farmer as a pure type, though by 
careful management the above returns could be 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 243 

much increased. Grain growing as part of a 
rotation with other crops, where some other line 
forms the main issue, is much more promising. 

BEEF FARMING 

Although chiefly confined to the prairies and 
the ranch it will not be amiss to consider the 
possibilities of beef farming upon a typical 
Eastern farm. Changed into intensive methods 
the problem should work out something like the 
following. 

INVENTORY 

Farm, 100 acres @ $40 $4,000.00 

Bam 1,000.00 

Silos 300.00 

30 Beef cows @ $50 1,500.00 

BuU 200.00 

Team, harness and wagons 400.00 

Mowing machine 40.00 

Tedder 25.00 

Hay rake 25.00 

Plows and harrows 50.00 

Small implements 100.00 

$7,640.00 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Woodland, waste and buildings 20 

Pasture 10 

Roots and forage 10 

Corn 30 

Hay 30 

100 



244 FARM MANAGEMENT 

PROBABLE EXPENSE OF MANAGEMENT 

Interest, $7,640 @ 5% $382.00 

Depreciation, repairs and insurance on 

buildings @ 5% 65.00 

Depreciation on team and tools @ 10% . 64.00 

Taxes 50.00 

Help 300.00 

Supplies and incidentals 150.00 

Grain 300.00 

Total, $1,311.00 

PROBABLE RETURN3 

30,000 lbs. Beef @ 5 cents (30 head one-year 

old) $1,500.00 

Expense of Management, 1,311.00 

Farmer's Salary, $ 189.00 

For suggestions in making up these figures I 
am indebted to a well-known animal industry 
man. The farm rotation balance here suggested 
contemplates feeding from the silo summer and 
winter, with a small area of roots and summer 
forage to furnish a slight variety of feed. The 
pasture may or may not enter into the rotation. 
Land may be seeded in the corn at the last culti- 
vation or following forage crops and allowed to 
remain in hay two years, half the thirty acres 
being newly seeded each year and allowing corn 
to occupy the same land or forage land a second 
year, one-half being on sod ground. Forage 
crops may be interspersed in part as suggested 
in the dairy farm rotation. Provision could be 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 245 

made for bedding in connection with the forage- 
crop area. 

It is assumed that '* baby-beef" can be made 
to reach 1,000 pounds in weight at one year 
of age. The prices allowed for investment 
are sufficient to provide for good beef ani- 
mals. 

This estimate is merely an attempt to adapt 
beef farming to our assumed type of farm, 
limited in size. In other words it is an attempt 
to transform a naturally extensive type of farm- 
ing into an intensive type, and the results are not 
encouraging. With a larger investment in land, 
allowing for pasture in summer, and a corre- 
spondingly smaller expense for labour, the 
results may be quite different. 

The following figures from a 1,000-acre beef 
farm in Missouri show the ability of such a 
farm to pay interest on a heavy capitalisation 
and still leave a substantial salary for the 
owner. 

A PROFITABLE BEEF FARM MISSOURI 

INVENTORY 

Land without buildings, 1040 acres @ $65 . $67,600.00 
Water supply, drains, etc 1,400.00 

Buildings 

Dwellings, including 5 tenant houses . 6,000.00 

Barns and Silos 3,000.00 

Other farm buildings 1,000.00 



£46 FARM MANAGEMENT 

Live stock 

100 Cows (Short horns) @ $100 . . $10,000.00 

50 Young cattle $75 3,750.00 

100 Beef steers @ $50 5,000.00 

300 Hogs @ $5 1,500.00 

200 Hens @ 50 cents 100.00 

Teams and Tools 

10 Horses @ $100 1,000.00 

Farm harness 100.00 

Farm wagons 200.00 

Other farm implements 200.00 

Total, $100,850.00 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Buildings, waste and woodland 100 

Meadow 200 

Pasture 580 

Corn 80 

Oats 40 

Wheat 40 

1040 

AVERAGE EXPENSES 

Taxes $ 450.00 

Help 1,440.00 

Supplies and incidentals 3,000.00 

Total, $4,890.00 

AVERAGE RETURNS 

100 lbs. Butter @ 25 cents $ 25.00 

200 dozen Eggs @ 15 cents 30.00 

100 tons Hay @ $6.50 650.00 

100 Steers 6,000.00 

50 Cows (Short horns) 6,000.00 

200 Hogs @ $12.50 2,500.00 

Total, $15,205.00 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 247 

POULTRY FARMING 

Poultry farming adapts itself to a wide range 
of possibilities, but I know of no more business- 
like system than that which employs a farm of 
considerable size, similar to the one we have 
chosen for illustration. The figures here given 
are based upon the experience of a very success- 
ful poultry firm which adopts this type. 

INVENTORY 

Farm, 100 acres @ $40 $4,000.00 

Barn, with root cellar 500.00 

Henhouses ($2 per hen,) 4,000.00 

Incubator cellar, feed and cooking room . 500.00 

12 Colony brooder houses for chicks @ $30 360.00 

Fencing 300.00 

Incubators . 150.00 

Team, harness and wagons 400.00 

Plows and harrows 50.00 

Mowing machine 40.00 

Hay rake 25.00 

Small implements 100.00 

2,000 Fowls @ $1.50 (75 cents each if not 

pure-bred) 3,000.00 

$13,425.00 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Woodland, waste and buildings 20 

Com 20 

Wheat 20 

Clover 10 

Oats and peas 10 

Pasturage, set with fruit 20 

" 100 



/ 



248 FARM MANAGEMENT 

PROBABLE EXPENSE OF MANAGEMENT 

Interest, $13,425 @ 5% $ 671.25 

Depreciation, repairs and insurance on 

buildings ©5% 268.00 

Depreciation on team, tools and fencing 10% 91.50 

Taxes 40.00 

Help (two regular men) 900.00 

Feed ($1 per hen less amount raised) . 1,000.00 

Advertising 200.00 

Supplies and incidentals 300.00 

Total, $3,470.75 

PROBABLE RETURNS 

Eggs for market @ 30 cents per dozen . . $4,000.00 

Eggs for hatching 1,000.00 

Meat and breeding stock 1,000.00 

Fruit 1,000.00 

Total, $7,000.00 
Expense of Management, 3,470.75 

Farmer's Salary, $3,529.25 

In this estimate of returns the cost of raising 
chicks is provided for by sale of hens, the receipts 
for which are not included. 

In a business of this size the demand for litter 
in the houses corresponds to the demand for 
roughage on a dairy farm. Growing a con- 
siderable amount of grain, as above, provides 
for this as well as reducing the money outlay 
for purchased feed. An acre of beets should 
be provided for at some point. This may be 
taken from the pasture range in orchard or from 
the amount assigned to one of the other crops. 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 249 

The plan here followed uses home made 
colony brooder houses for chicks, in which 
heat is used only while the chicks are young 
but in which they remain until ready to 
take their place in the regular laying flocks. 
The supplies and incidentals will include 
whitewash, kerosene and gasolene, bug-death, 
postage, etc. The price allowed for market 
eggs assumes a well established trade among 
customers willing to pay for a carefully 
prepared and fully guaranteed article. This 
price is somewhat exceeded by the firm 
upon whose experience these figures are 
based. 

The fact which is likely to strike those un- 
familiar with the business most forcibly is the 
large amount of capital involved. Many false 
notions exist in this regard. While it is per- 
fectly true that one may make a beginning in 
the poultry business with very little capital, pro- 
vided he does not need to depend upon that 
for a livelihood, it is equally true that to 
make it a business of any great import- 
ance demands a heavier investment than in 
many other lines of farming. Given that 
investment, coupled with skilful manage- 
ment, and the returns need no apology. It 
should be noted that the amount of labour 
demanded is also considerably more than 
is often supposed. 



250 FARM MANAGEMENT 

A MODEST POULTRY FARM RHODE ISLAND 

INVENTORY 

Land without buildings, 113 acres ... $ 400.00 

Buildings 

Dwelling 500.00 

Barns 200.00 

Other farm buildings ...... 600.00 

Live Stock 

2 Cows @ $30 60.00 

900 Hens @ 60 cents 540.00 

Chicks and ducks 200.00 

Teams and Tools 

2 Horses @ $50 100.00 

Farm harness 40.00 

Farm wagons 60.00 

Other farm implements 50.00 

Total, $2,750.00 

Estimate of cash needed for working capital, $ 300.00 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE Acres 

Buildings, waste and woodland 73 

Meadow 18 

Pasture 20 

Potatoes i 

Garden ^ 

AVERAGE EXPENSES 

Taxes $ 3.00 

Help 200.00 

Feeds 2,000.00 

Supplies and incidentals 450.00 

Total, $2,653.00 

AVERAGE RETURNS 
Eggs $1,800.00 

Poultry 2,000.00 

Total, $3,800.00 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 251 

GRASS FARMING 

In many localities hay is a profitable crop. 
Under some conditions it may seem wise to de- 
vote the farm to hay alone. In that case the 
problem would work out in a manner similar to 
the following: 

INVENTORY 

Farm, 100 acres @ $40 $4,000.00 

Hay barn 1,000.00 

Team, harness and wagons 400.00 

Mowing machine 40.00 

Tedder 25.00 

Hay rake 25.00 

Hay loader 60.00 

Plows and harrows 50.00 

Rollers 25.00 

Small implements 50.00 

Total, $5,675.00 

FAMU ROTATION BALANCE ^cres 

Woodland, waste and buildings 20 

Hay . 80 

100 

PROBABLE EXPENSE OF MANAGEMENT 

Interest, $5,675 @ 5% $ 283.75 

Depreciation, repairs and insurance on 

buildings @ 5% 50.00 

Depreciation on team and tools @ 10% . 67.50 

Taxes 40.00 

Helping in haying 200.00 

Grain and bedding for team 100.00 

Grass seed, 20 acres each year .... 40.00 

Fertilisers, $15 per acre 1,200.00 

Supplies and incidentals 50.00 

Total, $2,031.25 



252 FARM MANAGEMENT 

PROBABLE RETURNS 

240 Tons hay @ $15 $3,600.00 

Expense of Management 2,031.25 

Farmer's Salary 1,568.75 

These figures assume that by an expenditure 
of $15 per acre annually for fertilisers it is pos- 
sible to secure an average yield of three tons of 
hay per acre. Such yields are being exceeded 
year after year on good grass land with careful 
management. It is assumed that four crops 
will be taken before reseeding, which is done by 
working up the old sod as soon as the grass is 
cut, giving thorough and frequent tillage until 
September 1st and seeding to grass alone. As 
the hay is grown for market no clover is used 
and all nitrogen needed must be supplied in 
fertilisers. A side-delivery rake and a hay press 
are additional items of equipment worthy of 
consideration. In some cases the hay loader 
might not be profitable. 

In determining whether this would prove a 
profitable type of farming the character of the 
land and the cost of marketing should be care- 
fully considered. On good hay land in local- 
ities where hay brings a high price it is one 
of the most promising lines. New England is 
a particularly favourable region for hay farming 
since the prices average very high and the climate 
is favourable for the growth of grass. Much of 
the soil is deficient in fertility so that fertilising 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 253 

must be more liberal than in many other parts 
of the country. 

A feeling exists among farmers that to sell hay 
is a bad business policy, because it depletes the 
fertility of the land. Under the common system 
of taking everything off and putting nothing back 
this is true. It is easily possible, however, to 
supply all the fertiliser ingredients removed, in 
the form of chemicals, while hay farming, unlike 
grain farming, does not rob the soil of its humus, 
the depletion of which causes so much injury to 
the mechanical condition of the soil and such 
rapid depletion of fertility in continuous grain 
growing. 

Certain objections apply to a system of all 
hay farming. Chief among these is the fact that 
the greater part of the labour is bunched at 
haying time, a season when it is most difficult to 
obtain help and when prices rule higher than 
at any other season of the year. There is not 
enough labour for team nor men during the 
remainder of the year to warrant keeping a 
sufficient force to handle the haying with regular 
help. It is therefore necessary to make careful 
provision for the extra help needed in ample 
time to avoid delay when haying comes. 

There is a possibility that insect enemies, 
particularly the white grub (Lachnosterna 
fusca)y may render continuous grass culture 
precarious. This latter insect is especially 



254 FARM MANAGEMENT 

troublesome in New England, and its habit of 
laying its eggs in grass land, being much more 
injurious in old meadows and pastures, may 
render it a serious enemy to this type of 
farming. 

In some quarters a prejudice has arisen against 
hay fertilized with chemicals, owing to the belief 
that its quality is inferior. Should this belief 
prove well-grounded, it may become a serious 
objection to pure hay farming. 

SPECIAL FARMING Terry Rotation 

A three-year rotation limited to wheat, clover 
and potatoes, as formerly practised by T. B. 
Terry of Ohio, should show results somewhat 
as follows: 

INVENTORY 

Farm, 100 acres @ $40 $4,000.00 

Bam and sheds 1,000.00 

Team, harness and wagons 400.00 

Plows and harrows 75.00 

Roller 25.00 

Mowing machine 40.00 

Tedder 25.00 

Hay-rake 25.00 

Potato planter 50.00 

Potato digger 100.00 

Grain drill 50.00 

Binder 125.00 

Small implements 100.00 

Total, $6,015.00 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 255 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 
Woodland, waste and buildings 20 

Potatoes 26§ 

Wheat 26f 

Clover 26§ 

100 

PROBABLE EXPENSE OF MANAGEMENT 

Interest, $6,015 @ 5% $ 300.75 

Depreciation, repairs and insurance on 

buildings @ 5% 50.00 

Depreciation on team and tools @ 10% . 101.50 

Taxes 40.00 

Help 400.00 

Supplies and incidentals 100.00 

Grain for team 75.00 

Fertilisers 250.00 

Total, $1,317.25 

PROBABLE RETURNS 

5,000 bu. Potatoes @ 50 cents .... $2,500.00 
750 bu. Wheat @ 75 cents 562.50 

Total, $3,062.50 
Expense of Management, 1,317.25 

Farmer's Salary, $1,745.25 

For a farm of this size the plan as here out- 
lined is weak in not providing a profitable use 
for the clover hay. As practised by Mr. Terry 
on a smaller farm the clover can be utilised by 
liberal feeding to the team and family cow. The 
addition of a system of winter feeding of calves 



256 FARM MANAGEMENT 

for beef or of boarding stock which would pay 
a fair value for the hay and for the labour in- 
volved would materially increase the returns 
and render the plan more businesslike. As 
outlined here it would be necessary to allow 
much of the clover to return directly to the land 
unharvested. 

The above estimate allows for 200 bushels of 
potatoes and thirty bushels of wheat per acre. 
With these yields the amount marketed will still 
provide a sufficient amount for seed. In case of 
potatoes it will allow for exchange of seed, in 
part at least, at an advance in price over that 
obtained for those marketed. 

Mr. Terry was able to carry on this rotation 
continuously without the use of chemical fer- 
tilisers, and without any apparent depletion of 
fertility. Whether this can be done everywhere 
is open to question. Certain it is that in many 
localities chemicals would be needed at the be- 
ginning in order to secure yields anywhere near 
satisfactory. Yet the soil conditions brought 
about by the abundance of humus resulting 
from the clover sod so frequently turned under 
is doubtless a more important factor than the 
mineral elements present. With the clover 
carefully converted into manure and returned 
to the soil each year as Mr. Terry did it the 
fertiliser demands will be reduced to a mini- 
mum. 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 257 

A POTATO AND HAY FARM — RHODE ISLAND 

INVENTORY 

Land without buildings, 84 acres @ $200 . $16,800.00 

Buildings 

Dwelling 6,000.00 

Barns 1,200.00 

Other farm buildings 600.00 

Live stock 

1 Cow 35.00 

50 Hens @ 75 cents 37.50 

Teams and Tools 

5 Horses 800.00 

Farm harness 60.00 

Farm wagons 400.00 

Other farm implements 500.00 

Total $25,432.50 

FARM ROTATION-BALANCE 

Acres 

Buildings, waste and woodland 18 

Meadow 20 

Pasture 18 

Com 6 

Oats 10 

Potatoes 12 

84 

AVERAGE EXPENSES 

Taxes .....$ 80.00 

Help 500.00 

Feeds 300.00 

Fertilisers 600.00 

Supplies and incidentals ? 

Total, $1,480.00 



258 FARM MANAGEMENT 

AVERAGE RETURNS 

400 dozen Eggs @ 24 cents .... $ 96.00 
3,600 bu. Potatoes @ 56 cents ... 2016.00 

40 tons Hay @ $19 760.00 

300 bu. Corn @ 57 cents 171.00 

300 bu. Oats @ 38 cents 114.00 

Total, $3,157.00 
FRUIT FARMING 

Fruit yields are even more fickle than those of 
most other farm crops. Returns are therefore 
hard to estimate, but based on general averages 
the problem will work out somewhat as follows, 
if a miscellaneous collection of fruit is grown: 

INVENTORY 

Farm, 100 acres @ $40 $4,000.00 

Horse barn 500.00 

Storage house 1,000.00 

Teams, harness and wagons 700.00 

Plows and harrows 100.00 

Spraying outfit 150.00 

Small implements 100.00 

Total, $6,550.00 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Woodland, waste and buildings 20 

Apples 40 

Pears 10 

Peaches 10 

Plums 5 

Cherries 5 

Raspberries 3 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 259 



Blackberries 






. . 2 


Currants 1 


Gooseberries 1 


Strawberries and clover 


. . 3 


100 


PROBABLE EXPENSE OF MANAGEMENT 


Interest, $6,550 @ 5% $327.50 


Depreciation, repairs and insurance on build- 


ings @ 5%. , 75.00 


Depreciation on team and tools @ 10% . . 105.00 


Taxes 


50.00 


Help, regular 


fionno 


Feed and bedding for teams 400.00 


Fertilisers 


800.00 


Supplies and incidentals 

Total 


200.00 


, $2,557.50 


PROBABLE RETURNS 


1,600 bbls. Apples @ $1 net $1,600.00 


500 bbls. Pears @ $1.25 net . . 






625.00 


1,000 bu. Peaches @ $1 net . . 






1,000.00 


750 bu. Plums @ 75 cents net . 






562.50 


500 bu. Cherries @ $1 net . . 






500.00 


200 bu. Raspberries @ $1.25 net 






250.00 


200 bu. Blackberries @ $1.25 net 






250.00 


125 bu. Currants @ $1 net . . 






125.00 


300 bu. Gooseberries @ 75 cents net 




225.00 


100 bu. Strawberries @ $1.50 net . 




150.00 




$5,287.50 




Lgeu 


aen 


t 2,557.50 



Farmer's Salary $2,730.00 

A fruit farm of this size, with the large amount 
of marketing involved, would call for an 
additional team, thus increasing the investment 



260 FARM IVIANAGEMENT 

for that Item. It should be said that there is 
also a large investment of passive capital, repre- 
sented in the trees, which is not included in the 
above estimate. If this is added it will greatly 
increase the interest charge on capital. It is 
diflScult to place a just value upon a bearing 
orchard. If the attempt is made it should be 
remembered that there is not only the item of 
appreciation in value for a young orchard but 
depreciation for orchards which have begun to 
pass their zenith. Each must be carefully con- 
sidered or the owner will be led astray. When 
the grower develops his own orchard he may 
prefer to look upon it in the light of a crop under 
way rather than add a value to his farm which it 
might be difficult for him to realise in case of 
sale. 

For purposes of illustration the farm rotation 
balance given above shows a larger variety of 
fruit than it would be advisable to grow under 
many conditions. The peaches and small fruits 
are necessarily short-lived so that an exact 
balance of this kind could not be looked upon as 
permanent. The strawberries are supposed to 
alternate with clover, allowing one acre in fruit- 
ing, one in young plants and one in clover each 
year. 

On high-priced land, especially, it is entirely 
feasible to plant small fruits among the trees, 
thereby materially increasing the productive 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 261 

possibilities of a given number of acres. This is 
especially desirable during the years when a 
young orchard is developing. 

The item of help is designed to include only 
the regular help needed in caring for the trees and 
plants and in hauling the produce to market. 
The cost of picking, packing, packages, etc. is 
provided for by allowing a net price for the prod- 
ucts sold low enough so that average market 
prices will cover these charges. These are variable 
'tems, depending upon the amount of fruit sold. 
Fruit prices are apt to be very irregular and it 
would be unwise to place too much dependence 
upon estimates of this sort, but it is believed that 
the prices allowed are conservative. The yield 
of the larger fruits is placed at about half that 
of a full crop in order to arrive at an approximate 
average between the bearing year and the off 
year, or years of light crops. 



A SUCCESSFUL FRUIT FARM IN NEW YORK 
MANAGED BY A FATHER AND SON 

INYENTORY 

Land without buildings, 114 acres @ $100 . $1 1,400.00 
Water supply, etc 500.00 

Buildings 

Dwelling 3,000.00 

Barns 2,000.00 

Other farm buildings 200.00 



262 FARM MANAGEMENT 

Live stock 

1 Cow $50.00 

Young cattle 10.00 

2 Hogs @ $5 10.00 

100 Hens @ 50 cents 50.00 

Teams and Tools 

7 Horses® $125 . 875.00 

Farm harness 100.00 

Farm wagons 600.00 

Other farm implements 300.00 

Total, $19,095.00 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Buildings, waste and woodland 30 

Meadow 6 

Pasture 6 

Fruit 62 

104 

AVERAGE EXPENSES 

Taxes $ 100.29 

Help 3,217.01 

Feeds 360.61 

Fertilisers 384.62 

Sujjplies and incidentals, estimated (this in- 

. eludes fruit packages, $1,467.69) . . . 2,000.00 

Total, $6,062.53 

AVERAGE RETURNS 

Total sales of fruit, less freight and com- 
mission $12,955.41 

This was considered an unusually good year. 

TRUCK FARMING 

At this point it will be necessary to depart from 
our typical farm of 100 acres, for a farm of 100 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING 263 

acres devoted to vegetables would represent a 
business of much greater size than any which we 
have considered. For this reason we will 
therefore assume a farm of ten acres, the land 
being worth $125 per acre. For purposes of 
illustration, as in the case of fruit growing, 
a rather wide range of products will be in- 
cluded. 

INVENTORY 

Farm, 10 acres @ $125 $1,250.00 

Horse barn 500.00 

Root cellar 500.00 

Teams, harness and wagons (3 horses) . . 600.00 

Plows and harrows 50.00 

Small implements . 100.00 

Total, $3,000.00 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Buildings and waste ^ 

Asparagus 1 

Potatoes, followed by cabbage 3 

Sweet corn, followed by turnips 1 

Onions, followed by carrots 1 

Cabbage, running 1 

Spinach, followed by tomatoes ^ 

Beans and peas, followed by beets | 

Onion sets and lettuce, followed by sweet corn . ^ 

Beets I 

Carrots J 

Parsnips \ 

Rhubarb J 

10 



264 FARM MANAGEMENT 

PROBABLE EXPENSE OF MANAGEMENT 

Interest, $3,000 @ 5% $150.00 

Depreciation, repairs and insurance on build- 
ings @ 5% 50.00 

Depreciation on team and tools @ 10% . . 75.00 

Taxes 25.00 

Help 800.00 

Feed and bedding for teams (3 horses) . . 300.00 

Manure and fertilisers 400.00 

Seeds 60.00 

Supplies and incidentals 100.00 

Total, $1,960.00 

PROBABLE RETURNS 

600 bu. Potatoes @ 75 cents $450.00 

35 tons Cabbage @ $20 700.00 

400 bu. Onions @ 60 cents 240.00 

500 bu. Carrots @ 50 cents 250.00 

1,250 doz. ears Sweet corn @ 8 cents . . 100.00 

200 bu. Turnips @ 40 cents 80.00 

2,500 lbs. Asparagus @ 12 cents .... 300.00 

100 bbls. Spinach @ $1.50 150.00 

150 bu. Tomatoes @ 50 cents 75.00 

75 bu. String beans @ 80 cents .... 60.00 

50 bu. Peas @ $1 50.00 

150 bu. Late beets @ 50 cents .... 75.00 

500 dozen Lettuce @ 25 cents . . . . 125.00 

6,000 bunches Onion sets 125.00 

400 doz. bunches Beets @ 30 cents . . . 120.00 

400 doz. bunches Carrots @ 30 cents. . . 120.00 

50 bbls. Parsnips @ $1.50 75.00 

Rhubarb 25.00 

Total, $3,120.00 

Expense of Management, 1,960.00 

Farmer's Salarj-, $1,160.00 



SPECIFIC TYPES OF FARMING ^65 

Such a wide range of products as here as- 
sumed would call for a local market demanding 
a general supply. If for a wholesale trade fewer 
kinds would prove more profitable. It will be 
noticed that in this type of farming the capital 
invested is much less in proportion to the total 
returns than in types previously considered. 
The interest charge is therefore smaller, while 
the expenses for help and fertiliser are pro- 
portionately larger. For the man with limited 
capital this type possesses manifest advant- 
ages. 

A TYPICAL TRUCK FARM NEAR BOSTON 

INVENTORY 

Land without buildings, 14 J acres @ $800 . $11,600.00 

Buildings 

Dwelling 1,700.00 

Barns 400.00 

Greenhouses 1,000.00 

Live stock 

1 Cow 25.00 

35 Hens @ 80 cents 28.00 

Teams and Tools 

3 Horses @ $150 450.00 

Farm harness 75.00 

Farm and market wagons .... 400.00 

Other farm implements 168.00 

Hotbed sash 1,100.00 

Total, $16,946.00 



266 FARM MANAGEMENT 

FARM ROTATION BALANCE 

Acres 

Buildings, waste and woodland 4j 

Small vegetables 10 

AVERAGE EXPENSES 

Taxes $ 180.00 

Help 3,290.00 

Feeds 460.00 

Fertilisers 748.00 

Supplies and incidentals 800.00 

Total, $5,478.00 

AVERAGE RETURNS 

Vegetables, forty varieties $6,768.00 

Statement of expenses and returns taken 
from jfigures for five years. 

The reader may find items in the foregoing 
estimates which his own experience will lead 
him to criticise or change. They are believed 
to present a reliable working basis for making 
comparisons under average conditions but too 
much emphasis is not to be laid upon the 
detailed items given. 



INDEX 



Account, bank, 169 
Accounts, business, 145 

personal, 170 

reasons for keeping, 145 

requisites for satisfactory, 
146 

systems, of, 146 
Acreage of improved land, 7 
Adjustment of farm problems, 6 

of land, labour and capital, 
12 
Advertising, 139 
Agriculture and manufactures, 8 

and population, 7 
Appearance of farm and crops, 139 

of farmer and team, 139 
Attractiveness of location, 68 

surroundings, 104 

Bank account, 169 

Beef farming, 243 

Bookkeeping requisites, 146 

Boyd farms, 90 

Budlong farm, 75 

Buildings, 65 

depreciation on, 157 
location and arrangement, 
204 

Bulletin-board, 142 

Business accounts, 145 

other lines compared with 
farming, 91 

Butter-fat tests, 193 

Buying, cooperative, 214 

Capital, 10 

census statistics, 13 

classification, 11 

economy of, 76 

man without, opportunities 

for, 102 

need of, 92 

opportunity for investment, 

93 
statistics from farmers, 15 



Cards, inventory, 160 

ledger, 172 
Cash book, 162 

double-entry, 175 
Cash business, advantage of, 182 

rental, 49 
Census statistics of farm capital, 

13 
Choice of a farm, 56 
Church facilities, 57 
Circulars, 143 
City salesman, 133 

store, 134 
Conunission, vs. direct sale, 130 
Contour, 63 
Contract labour, 32 
Cooperation, 208 
Cooperative buying, 214 

creamery, 213 

fire insurance, 218 

labour, 212 

manufacture, 213 

marketing, 136 

ownership, 209, 211 

production, 208 

selling, 217 

telephone system, 220 
Corn, farm price Nebraska and 
New York, 111 

harvester, compared with 
hand labour, 42 
Creamery, cooperative, 213 
Cream separator, profitableness 

of, 44 
Crop records, 195 
Crops, appearance of, 139 

Dairy farm, ownership or rental 
of, 48 

farming, 232 

records, 191 
Day book, 179 
Dead-line, 95 
Depreciation, 46 

rates of, 156 



267 



268 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



Distant market, vs. home, 128 
Division of shipments, 132 
Double-entry, 174 
Drainage, 64 

Dwelling, relation to farm business, 
11, 152 

Economic changes, 7 
Employment, family, 106 
Envelopes, printed, 141 
Equipment, 40, 85 
statistics, 16 
Evolution of farming, 3 
Extensive farming, vs. intensive, 
78 

Fair exhibits, 142 

Family consumption records, 195 

employment, 106 
Farm, appearance of, 139 

beef, 245 

character of, 62 

choice of, 56 

consumption, 71 

dairy, tj'pical, 236 

fruit, successful, 261 

mixed, a representative, 
226 

name, 140 

ownership or rental, 48 

poultry, 248 

records, 187 

shape, of, 203 

sheep, 239 

truck, typical, 265 

woman's. A, 231 
Farming, beef, 243 

compared with other lines 
of business, 91 

dairy, 232 

fruit, 258 

grain, 241 

grass, 251 

mixed, 223 

poultry, 247 

sheep, 237 

special, Terry rotation, 254 

specific types of, 222 

truck, 262 
Farmer, appearance of, 139 
Fences, 67 
Fencing, 198, 201 



Fencing, inventory value, 150 
Fertility, 63, 80 

inventory value, 151 
Fields, shape of, 202 
Financial returns, 97 
Fire insurance, cooperative, 218 
Forests, returns from, 22 
Fruit farming, 258 
Furrow, width of, 202 

Garfield, Chas. A, quoted, 100 

Greneral market vs. special, 126 

Grading, 136 

Grain farming, 241 

Grange fire insurance company, 

219 
Grass farming, 251 
Grirmell, A. P., quoted, 96 

Haul, long vs. short. 111 
Hay, extensive methods vs. in- 
sive, 82. 
fanning, 251 
Haying, time consumed in, 206 
Highways, 62 
Home-making, 105 
Home market, vs. distant, 128 

Implements and equipment, 40 

cooperative ownership of, 
209 

depreciation on, 158 

hiring, 44 

profitableness of, 41 
Independence, 107 
Intensive farming vs. extensive, 78 
Inventory, 148 

records, 159 

valuation, 154 
Investment demanded, 92 

safety of, 94 
Investor, active, opportunities for, 
100 

passive opportunities for, 
101 

Journal, 179 

Labour, 19 

amount expended per farm, 

14 
average cost, 31 



INDEX 



269 



Labour, contract, 51 

cooperative, 212 

distribution, 71 

economy of, 76 

manual, 27 

married vs. single men, 28 

monthly vs. day, 28 

price of fanner's, 31 

problem, 30 

relation to fixed charges, 
19 

team, 34 

winter, 20 
Land as a form of capital, 11 

improved and population, 
7 

inventory value, 150 

nature of, 62 
Ledger, 183 

extended, 171 
Letterheads, 140 
Livelihood, prospect of, 95 
Load, size in marketing, 119 
Location, 56 

attractiveness of, 68 

Magazine advertising, 143 
Mail facilities, 56 
Mail-order business, 135 
Manual labour, 27 
Manufacture, cooperative, 213 
Manufactures and agriculture, 8 
Man without capital, opportimities 

for, 102 
Market facilities, 60 

general vs. special, 126 

home vs. distant, 128 

wholesale vs. retail, 122 
Marketing, advantages of special 
fanning in, 77 

advantages of syndicate 
farming, 87 

cooperative, 136 

cost of, 117 

effect of roads, 118 

problems, 109 

quantity handled, 1 16 

team vs. rail, 121 
Medical attendance, availability 

of, 58 
Milk records, 192 
Miscellaneous problems, 198 



Mixed farming, 223 
vs. special, 73 
Money return, uniform, 72 

Name, farm, 140 

Neighbors, 59 

Newspaper advertising, 143 

Onions, an intensive crop, 80 
Operating expenses, statistics of, 

16 
Opportunities in agriculture, 100 
Orchards, 67 

inventory value, 150 
Oversight, 87, 89 
Ownership or rental of farm, 48 

Packages, 137 
Packing, 136 
Parcels post, need of, 1 14 
Perquisites, 29 
Personal accounts, 170 
Population and agriculture, 7 
Potatoes, an intensive farm crop, 
79 

extensive methods vs. in- 
tensive, 83 
Poultry farming, 247 

records, 194 
Price, importance of, 109 
Profits, 97 
Profit-sharing, 33 
Production, cooperative, 208 

records, 191 

Quality of product, 128 

Railway facilities, 57 
Rations for horses, 36 
Records and accounts, 145 

crop, 195 

dairy, 191 

family consumption, 195 

farm, 187 

inventory, 159 

milk, 192 

poultry, 194 

production, 191 

swine, 194 
Rental or ownership of farm, 48 
Retail market vs. wholesale, 122 
Rhubarb, forcing, 24 



270 



FARM MANAGEMENT 



Risk in cash and share rental, 52 
Roads, effect on marketing, 118 
Rotation, 67 
Rotation-balance, 70 

Safety of investment, 94 

Sale, direct, vs. commission, 130 

Salesman, city, 133 

School facilities, 58 

Self-sustaining men, percentages 

of, 96 
Selling, by whom done, 129 
Selling, cooperative, 217 
Service, 107 
Shape of farm, 203 

of field, 202 
Share rental, 49 
Sheep farming, 237 
Shipments, division of, 132 

size of, 113 
Shipping cards, 141 
Single-entry system, 147 
Sires, cooperative ownership of, 

211 
Size of business, wholesale vs. 
retail, 124 

load in marketing, 119 

machinery, 45 

shipment, 113 
Slips, ledger, 172 
Social opportunities, 59 
Special farming, 76 

farming, vs. mixed, 73 

Terry rotation, 254 
Specialisation, 3 
Special market, vs. general, 126 

trade, 124 
Store, city, 134 
Surface contour, 63 
Surroundings, 56 

attractiveness of, 104 
Swine records, 194 
Syndicate farming, 85 
Systems of farming, 70 



Team, appearance of, 139 

labour, 34 

cost per unit of work, 37 

maintenance, 35 

rations, 36 

three-horse, in marketing, 
120 

depreciation on, 157 

three- and four-horse, 38 
Telephone facilities, 58 

systems, cooperative, 220 
Terry rotation, 254 
Time-cards, 31, 188 
Time, economy of, 200 

loss in working large areas, 
88 
Transportation, 110 

faciUties, 62 

private, 114 

relation to type of farming, 
112 
Trolley facilities, 57 
Truck farming, 262 
Types of farming, 222 



Valuation, inventory, 154 
Varieties, 136 
V^etable gardening, 262 



Waste land, 64 
Water-supply, 66 
Well, badly situated, 205 
Wheat, an extensive crop, 79 
Wholesale market vs. retail, 122 
Wing, Joseph E., quoted, 239 
Winter labour, 20 

study, 27 
Woodland, 66 

relation to labour problem, 
21 
Woman's farm, A, 231 
Women, opportunities for, 103 



MAH 21 i907 



^ 



96 \^^07 



LIBRARY OF CX)NGRESS 




0DDE77fll'^b5 



>ii^ 



